Among the demands of the Scottish commissioners, there were two to which Charles felt most reluctant to accede,—the tacit confirmation of the late acts of the Scottish parliament, including almost every civil and re ligious demand ; and the punishment of incendiaries, i. c. of such civil ministers and prelates as were thought to have advised the king to hostilities with the Scottish nation. The prosecution of incendiaries was at last re ferred to the English parliament, and tacitly reserved to the king ; it being understood that they were to be for ever excluded from his person, and from offices of trust. 01 300,0001. which the English parliament voted as a brotherly assistance to the Scotch, and which the Scotch claimed as an indemnification tor their share of losses by the war, a fourth part was advanced. Ecclesiastical conformity was referred to the English official arrange ments, and to the Scottish parliament. The king had already announced his intention of visiting Scotland once more ; a journey of which the commons were afraid, as it would lead hint directly through the heart of both armies.* As he refused to defer his departure, they ordered the arrears to be provided, and both armies to be withdrawn.
A small committee of both houses attended the king, in reality to act as observers of his conduct. These were the Earl of Bedford, Lord Howard, Sir Philip Stapleton, Sir Wm. Armyne, Fienncs, and Ilambdcn.
Amidst this variety of distracting affairs, the king concluded the marriage of the Princess Mary with William, Prince of Orange. The parliament assented to this measure with satisfaction.
On the King's arrival in Scotland, he had the mortifi cation to find Montrose, and others of his friends, im prisoned for that detected correspondence which they had maintained with him during the treaty of Rippon. Scotland now beheld, perhaps for the first time, a parlia ment, whose deliberations, instead of being limited as formerly to a single day, were pursued for months with out interruption in the presence of the king. The lesser barons, hitherto restrained to a single suffrage for each county, now assumed, for the first time, each a separate and independent vote. Since the detection of Montrose's treachery, the parliament were more inclined than ever to adhere to their accusations against the incendiaries ; with a patriotic desire also of rendering their govern ment independent of the English cabinet, they wished to possess influence in the nomination of ministers ; a last sinew of his prerogative, of which Charles was naturally tenacious. By mutual accommodation, the number of incendiaries was reduced to five, both plottersf and in cendiaries were released from prison, and their sentence was to be referred to the king. Charles, on his part, submitted to choose his ministers, with the approbation of the Scotch estates while they sat, and of his privy council, who themselves were chosen with the approba tion of the estates, when the estates should be adjourned.
He agreed to deprive of their seats, four judges who had adhered to his interests, and others were chosen more agreeable to the ruling party. Several of the Covenan ters were sworn into the privy council. The king be stowed pensions and preferments on Henderson, Gilles pie, and other popular preachers, and practised every art to soften his enemies. Argyle was created a mar the Lords Loudon and Lindsay earls, and the title vl the Earl of Leven was bestowed on Lesly. The Earl of Latierk continued Secretary, Roxburgh Lord Privy Seat, and the Treasury was put in commission. Argyle was preferred by parliament as candidate for the office of Chancellor ; but the king, though he bestowed on him a new title, wished not to aggrandise so popular and powerful a nobleman with new power.
Argyle and Hamilton held, at this time, the principal ascendency in the Scottish parliament. The latter had entered the covenant as a spy from the king ; but, ac cording to Clarendon, Montrose, in revealing the secrets of the Covenanters, imparted, that Hamilton was as hearty' in the covenanting interest as Argyle. Montrose had already denounced both Hamilton and Argyle, as traitors ; and had communicated, there is little doubt, intelligence of the secret correspondence of those no blemen with the parliamentary leaders in England. Their guilt he offered to assert and prove in parliament ; but rather advised, that they should be assassinated, and undertook the assassination himself.
The plot for the arrestation of Hamilton and Argyle, an event in Scottish history commonly denominated the incident, has been frequently called suppositious ; but that their arrest was intended by the earls of Crawford and Cochrane, admits of no dispute. They were to have been conveyed, it was said, under guard of Cochrane's regiment, stationed near Leith, where a frigate was rea dy, in the roads, to convey them off. The two noblemen, however, fled to Kinneil, the seat of Hamilton's brother. The king, who came next day to the Scottish parlia ment with 500 men in arms, complained of the injurious surmises excited by their flight. The leaders of the English parliament understood this affair of the incident, to which so many historians who have recorded it have been blind. They knew, that Montrose had betrayed their late correspondence with the Covenanters ; that Charles, wishing to revive obsolete treasons, intended to impeach them, and bring them to execution ; and that the seizure of Argyle and Hamilton was the forerunner of his intentions. When the news of the incident, there fore, reached England, the commons applied immediate ly for a guard, and obtained it from Essex, whom the king had left general in the south.