The Scots hoped to secure the assent of Charles to the Solemn League and a consequent union of king, parliament, and Scots against the army, but Charles, apart from his personal conscien tious scruples, could not desert the Anglican Cavaliers who had fought for him. When he refused, the Scots surrendered him to the parliament, on condition of payment of part of the arrears due to the Scottish army for its expenses in the war. The devel opment of events in England made it clear that the parliament could not fulfil the terms of the Solemn League, for power passed from the two Houses to the army. Chagrined at the failure of the scheme of a covenanted uniformity, under which Scotland had already abandoned its own Catechisms and Confession of Faith in favour of the documents produced by the Westminster Assem bly of Divines, the Scottish parliament in 1647 entered into what was known as the Engagement with the king, then a prisoner in the Isle of Wight. The General Assembly with which the parlia ment had hitherto acted in harmony, strongly disapproved of this agreement by which Charles was to allow a three years' trial of the establishment of Presbytery in England—an insulting sug gestion for what the Scots held to be a divine institution. The quarrel between Engagers and Anti-Engagers affected Scottish history for years to come. The army under the duke of Hamil ton which, in accordance with the Engagement, invaded England, was defeated by .Cromwell at Preston in Aug. 1648. The victory was also a triumph for the assembly over the parliament, and the Anti-Engagers, led by the marquis of Argyll, entered into friendly relations with Cromwell, and, obtaining a parliamentary majority, proscribed the defeated Engagers in the statute known as the "Act of Classes" which placed them in a class or category with the royalists as men incapable of holding any civil office or serv ing in the army.
Cromwell.—The execution of Charles I. created a revulsion of feeling in Scotland, and a proclamation of Charles II. as King of Great Britain offered defiance to the new English Common wealth. The Scots, however, would not receive Charles in Scot land or give him regal authority until he signed both the Na tional Covenant and the Solemn League. He hesitated for some time, but the execution of Montrose, who was captured after an abortive invasion in 165o, convinced him that he had no alter native but subscription to the Covenants, and he landed at the mouth of the Spey in June 165o, to find himself practically a prisoner in the hands of the Anti-Engaging section of the Cov enanters. The defeat of the Scottish army by Cromwell at Dun bar (Sept. 3, 1650) went far to destroy the influence of the assembly and the Anti-Engagers, and not only Engagers, but even royalists, were exempted from the Act of Classes by a series of public resolutions passed in parliament in 1651. These resolutions produced a fresh division between Resolutioners and Protesters or Remonstrants. The breach thus produced survived the defeat of the army which Charles II. led to Worcester (Sept. 3, 1651) and also the rule of the Commonwealth and Protectorate.
For nearly nine years Scotland was under a military occupa tion, though the naked rule of the sword was partially disguised by the admission of Scotland into the United Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland. Scottish administration, under Gen. Monck, was vigorous and efficient, but the impoverished condition of the country prevented it from reaping the full bene fit either of the restoration of law and order or of the institution of free trade with England and the English colonies. The civil
war, followed by Cromwell's campaigns, had serious economic results which were aggravated by the confiscation of royalist estates and by the introduction of a burdensome system of taxa tion, which, however, did not nearly cover the expenses of ad ministration. On the religious side, the Cromwellian Government forbade the general assembly to meet, and insisted upon a tolera tion of Independents.
The Second Episcopacy.—Though the Protectorate was un popular, Scotland had no direct share in the Restoration and merely accepted the accomplished fact. The chief problem of Charles II. (166o-85) and his ministers was the religious question. Presbytery was legally established in Scotland by acts of parlia ment to which Charles I. had given the royal assent, and the new king began his reign by promising to "protect and preserve the government of the Church of Scotland as it is settled by law." But a Scottish parliament passed in March 1661 a General Act Rescissory which annulled all legislation since 1633, and episco pacy automatically became the government of the Church "as set tled by law." Scottish bishops were appointed, but Charles II. did not follow his father's example in prescribing a prayer-book or in superseding the lower courts of the church, which were placed under the supervision of the bishops. But lay patronage of livings was restored by the repeal of an act of 1648 which had abolished it, every one admitted to office of any kind had to re nounce the covenants, and penalties were prescribed for preach ing (or praying in public) against the episcopal government of the church. A few years later fines were imposed for non-attend ance at parish churches, lists of absentees were required from the incumbents, and soldiers were quartered in non-conformist dis tricts to collect the fines.
The result was that conscientious Presbyterians began to wor ship in secret conventicles, and further repressive measures were therefore necessitated. Ejected ministers were forbidden to reside within 20 miles of their former parishes, and masters, and even landlords, were held responsible for the attendance, at such field meetings, of their servants or tenants. A rebellion was expected by the Government, and it came in the end of 1666. It originated in the south-west; and the insurgents marched upon Edinburgh, but were easily defeated at Rullion Green in the Pentland Hills. A cruel vengeance was taken by the Privy Council, the president of which, James Sharpe, had deserted the Presbyterian cause in order to become Archbishop of St. Andrews. Under the first two royal commissioners through whom Charles II. ruled Scotland the earl of Middleton and the earl of Rothes, the bishops had exercised a powerful influence over the administration. The next commissioner, the duke of Lauderdale, who was in power from 1667-79, disliked the episcopal system which he was bound to maintain and his jealousy of the influence of the bishops was illustrated by his insistence upon the royal supremacy over the Church. He began his rule by treating the recalcitrant Covenant ers more mildly, but an increase in the number of conventicles was followed first by savage measures of repression and then by a renewal of efforts at conciliation. These again failed and Lauder dale, like Rothes, began to desire a rebellion. He had his wish, hut the result was his fall from power.