<!DOCTYPE ETS PUBLIC "-//UMDLPS//DTD EEBOPROOF 2.0//EN">
<ETS>
<TEMPHEAD>
<REVDESCR>
<CHANGE>
<DATE>2009-07-08</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Scott Lepisto</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Checklist:
x Add TEMPHEAD, change DATE, validate
x Add DIV TYPEs, validate
x Review structure, use BODY or rarely GROUP
x Check PB placement and completeness, ensure sequence of N=""
x Proof title page(s)
x Check HEAD TRAILER ARGUMENT EPIGRAPH OPENER CLOSER SIGNED SALUTE BYLINE
x Check ^, oe, italic I / J, _Initals, space between &amp;c FIGURE
x Check q; startq endq Q
x Check ligatures if in black letter &abper; &abpro; &abus; &abquod; &absed; &abser; &abcon; &abrum; &abis;
x Correct illegibles from proofsheet
x Check illegible page, para, line, span, word, dollar signs, &punc;
Final validate

Corrected [  ] illegible groups out of [  ].
Converted [  ] illegible groups to GAP DESC="illegible".
DONE</ITEM>
</CHANGE>
</REVDESCR>
</TEMPHEAD>
<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="B02615">
<STC T="W">d141a</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">52212007</BIBNO>
<VID>175634</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<HEAD><HI>INFORMATION</HI> For the Master of <HI>STAIR.</HI></HEAD>
<P>HIS Maje&s;ties Commi&s;&s;ioner having thought fit to Communicat to the Parliament, the Report, with the Evidences and In&s;tructions taken and adduced before the Commi&s;&s;ion of <HI>Glencoe,</HI> and the Ma&s;ter of <HI>Stair</HI>'s Freinds conceiving that he is mightily Prejudged by that Re|port, which notices particular Sentences or Periods of certain Letters of His, &s;uppre&s;&s;ing or not expre&s;&s;ing other Material Periods of the &s;ame Letters, and from whence Con&s;equen|ces are drawn, which cannot follow upon a due con&s;ideration of the whole.</P>
<P>The Ma&s;ters Friends had no Opportunity to &s;ee the&s;e Letters, or know the Tenor of them, till they were read in Parliament, and then being &s;atisfied that they do not an&s;wer to the Rumors and Commentars that are &s;pread abroad upon them, it was earne&s;tly de&s;ired that the Letters might be Prin|ted for the Ma&s;ters Vindication, which was not obtained, nor doubles allowed to be taken; but the Grounds of the Report only allowed to be &s;een in the Clerks Hands.</P>
<P>There has been &s;o much di&s;cour&s;e about <HI>Glenco,</HI> that little needs to be &s;aid to &s;tate the Ca&s;e: Its known they were very ill Men, Rebells, Papi&s;ts, Robbers and Theivs, which did not ju&s;tifie any In|humanity in their Execution, but did expo&s;e them more to legal Severity than other Subjects.</P>
<P>His Maje&s;ty being ju&s;tly di&s;plea&s;ed, that many Rebels had di&s;pi&s;ed two Indemnities, did re&s;olve in the next place, to apply the &s;everity of the Law, and none were found more fit to fall under it than tho&s;e of <HI>Glenco.</HI></P>
<P>To that end His Maje&s;tie granted In&s;tructions to Sir <HI>Thomas Living&s;toun,</HI> on the 11th. <HI>January</HI> 1692, whereof the fir&s;t runs in the&s;e Terms, <Q>You are hereby Ordered and Authorized to march our Troops which are now po&s;ted at <HI>Inverlochie</HI> and <HI>Inverne&s;s,</HI> to act again&s;t the&s;e <HI>High-land</HI> Rebels, who have not taken the benefit of our Indemnity, by Fire and Sword, and all manner of Ho&s;ti|lity, to burn their Hou&s;es, &s;eize or de&s;troy their Goods, Cattle, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">leni&s;hing and Cloaths, and to cut off the Men: And the fourth Article bears, That the Rebels may not think them&s;elves ab&s;olutly de&s;perat, We allow you, to own Powers, to give Terms and Quarters; But We are &s;o convinced of the nece&s;&s;i|ty of Severity, and that they cannot be reclaimed, That We will not allow you, to give any other Terms to Chi&s;tans, Heretors or Leaders, but to be Pri&s;oners of War, whereby their Lives are &s;aved; But for all other things they mu&s;t &s;urrender on Mercy, and take the Oath of Allegiance. And the fourth Article of additional In&s;truction the 16th. of <HI>January</HI> 1692 bears, "If <HI>Mckean</HI> of <HI>Glenco,</HI> and his Tribe can be well &s;eparated from the re&s;t, it will be a proper Vindication of the Publick Ju&s;tice to ex&s;tirpat that Sect of Theives.</Q></P>
<P>The <HI>Highland</HI> Rebels, who had not accepted of the Indemnity, might lawfully have been cut off without Quarters, but His Maje&s;ty molifies that Rigour, by allowing Sir <HI>Thomas Living&s;ton</HI> to give Terms and Quarters, yet <HI>Glenco</HI> was by the&s;e Orders to ly neare&s;t to the ju&s;t Vengeance of the Law.</P>
<P>Old <HI>Mckean</HI> of <HI>Glenco,</HI> did not take the Oath in due time, but &s;ix days after, he prevailed with <HI>Ar|kingla&s;s</HI> to Admini&s;ter the &s;ame, which <HI>Arkingla&s;s</HI> did, and de&s;ired that his Ca&s;e might be repre&s;ented to the Privy Council. But the re&s;t of his Clan, and Followers did not take the Oaths at all, yet up|on his taking the Oath, he and his People did look upon them&s;elves as &s;ecure, and <HI>Glenlyon,</HI> and his Company was Lodged among them in a peaceable manner, from the 1. to the 13. of <HI>February,</HI> and it ap|pears again&s;t the Rules of Ho&s;pitality and Humanity, that he with his Company, and others, did Barba|rou&s;ly Murder, five and Twenty Men, and a Woman, and particularly his own Land-lord, and many aggravating Circum&s;tances, do clearly appear, particularly that men of great Age, and a Boy of Four|teen years were cut off, and that Captain <HI>Drummond</HI> was very forward in that cruel Execution.</P>
<P>The Parliament has con&s;idered his Maje&s;ties In&s;tructions, and the Execution, and have voted that the In&s;tructions contain a Warrand for Mercy to all who offer to take the Oath of Allegiance, and come in upon Mercy without exception, though the Dyet prefixed was elap&s;ed; and that the &s;ame con|tained no Warrand for the Execution of the <HI>Glenco</HI> men, made in <HI>February</HI> thereafter.</P>
<P>It was al&s;o Voted, that the &s;aid Execution, as it was repre&s;ented in Parliament, was a Murder.</P>
<P>It was further Moved, That the Parliament &s;hould proceed to Con&s;ider the Per&s;ons guilty of the &s;aid Murder, and the Report does load the Ma&s;ter of <HI>Stair,</HI> as if his Letters had given the Occa&s;ion of it.</P>
<P>In the fir&s;t place, the Report of the Commi&s;&s;ion is noways to be reguarded to I<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">fluence any Mem|ber of Parliament, being privatly done, without acce&s;s allowed to any Party that might be Intere&s;|&s;ed, but the Grounds and In&s;tructions upon which it is Founded, are only to be con&s;idered.</P>
<P>If the Parliament &s;hal proceed to Con&s;ider the In&s;tructions and Probation adduced, the fir&s;t and mo&s;t Natural Point to be co<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;idered, is, who were the Executors; for if the&s;e Executors had no &s;uf|fficient Warrand for what t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ey did, or if they did that which no Warrand could Authorize, then certainly; as they were the Executors, &s;o they ly neare&s;t to, and mo&s;t ju&s;tly under the Cen&s;ure of the Nation. And the Probation as re-pre&s;ented to the Parliament bears, that <HI>Glenlyon,</HI> Captain <HI>Drum|mond,</HI> Lieutenant <HI>Lind&s;ay,</HI> and others being mo&s;t peaceably Lodged and Quartered among the <HI>Glenco</HI>
<PB N="2" REF="2">men, from the fir&s;t of <HI>February,</HI> and being civily received and entertained for the &s;pace of 13 days, they got acce&s;s in a friendly manner, to come in to old <HI>Glencoe</HI>'s Chamber, where he lay and killed him treacherou&s;ly behind his back, and that <HI>Glenlyon</HI>'s Land-lord was killed by him; and that old men &s;uperannuated, two Children, and a Woman were killed.</P>
<P>This Execution was &s;o Barbarous, that no Warrand could authorize it, the Laws of Humanity be|ing the &s;tronge&s;t of all Tyes, and whatever Obligations may ly upon Soldiers under Pay to execute Commands without di&s;puting, yet they are rather obliged to give up their Commi&s;&s;ions than to fly in the face of Nature. 2. Though the Command of Superior Officers be very ab&s;olute, yet no Com|mand again&s;t the Laws of Nature are binding, &s;o that a Soldier retaining his Commi&s;&s;ion, ought to refu&s;e to execute any Barbarity, as if a Soldier &s;hould be commanded to &s;hoot a Man pa&s;&s;ing by in|offen&s;ively upon the Street, no &s;uch Command would exeem him from the Puni&s;hment of Murder. 3. There is no pretence of any warrand for killing of Women or Children under age, neither did <HI>Glenlyon</HI> &s;o much as ever remon&s;trat to the giver of the Order, that he and his men were under the confidence of Ho&s;pitality, which the giver of the Order might not have con&s;idered &s;o well, as he who received it was bound to do before the Execution.</P>
<P>The Parliament having found the Kings Order legal, and the Execution illegal, &s;o &s;oon as the Executors are found to have exceeded either their Warrand or the Laws of Humanity, the Work and De&s;ign of the Parliament is done.</P>
<P>But becau&s;e the Ma&s;ter of <HI>Stair</HI> hath been named in the Matter, for his Vindication, it is to be con&s;i|dered. Fir&s;t, That there is a great difference in the Circum&s;tances of Affairs betwixt the time and the Suppo&s;ition upon which he wrote, and what fell out about the &s;ame time, or &s;hortly thereafter.</P>
<P><HI>Glencoe</HI> and his Son had been ob&s;tinat R<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">bells, forefaulted in the Parliament 1690, irreconcilable to the Government, he him&s;elf a Murderer, all his Tribe hereditary Thieves, he and they had &s;lighted two gracious Indemnities, the King was re&s;olved to make an Example of Ju&s;tice, as many had been made of his Mercy; And it was thought that the &s;ame could be no where exerci&s;ed more fitly to the Terror of others, and two of the Ma&s;ter of <HI>Stairs</HI> Letters, the fir&s;t and third of <HI>December</HI> 1691, do expo&s;tulate that the&s;e Men were deluded by hopes of Better Terms and longer Dyets, whereby they would fall into the Net, which was a &s;ufficient Warning to beware, yet they did not imbrace the In|demnity.</P>
<P N="2">2. All the Secretaries Letters were wrote upon the &s;uppo&s;ition that they were &s;till ob&s;tinat and irreconcilable Rebells, and no man can rea&s;onably &s;ay, that Rebells in &s;uch Circum&s;tances might not be cut off, for an Example of publick Ju&s;tice, neither was that Severity &s;o much the Secretaries pro|per Sentiment, as that his Endeavour to bring in the Highlanders without Blood was mi&s;con&s;tructed as flowing from Good-will and tenderne&s;s to the <HI>Jacobite</HI> Party, whom he would not have di&s;abled from their old Interprizes, and it was loudly di&s;cour&s;ed at that time, that this Opportunity &s;hould be taken to rid the Nation of the Barbarous Highlanders.</P>
<P>The Ma&s;ters Project not taking full Effect; and many rejecting the Offered Mercy, &s;uch as ob&s;tru|cted the Negotiation were ready to mi&s;-repre&s;ent his Mea&s;ures to the King; and there being Re&s;o|lution to make an Example of Severity on the&s;e very People, the Mr. was obliged to enter in it the more frankly, becau&s;e the Per&s;ons to whom the Letters were directed, and had the Tru&s;t of Exe|cution, had not been favourable to that Negotiation: and if he had appeared indifferent in that matter, he might have lyen under greater Cen&s;ure another way-</P>
<P N="3">3. As the Ma&s;ter did not know that <HI>Glencoe</HI> had taken the Oathes, even after the Dyet elap&s;ed, but looked upon all the Tribe as in open Rebellion, &s;o much le&s;s did he know that the manner of Execution would be by a man lodged as a Friend thirteen Nights in their Bo&s;om, or that they would kill Women or Children, in which the Inhumanity doth really con&s;i&s;t, for &s;uppo&s;e the ca&s;e that they all had been &s;tanding out ob&s;tinat Rebels, and never taken the Oathes, nor &s;o much as offered Sub|mi&s;&s;ion, and that in &s;uch Circum&s;tances, Military Forces had gone in and de&s;troyed them all, no man can &s;ay there was any thing illegal or cruel in that, and it was the Opinion of all who advi&s;ed the King, and it was His Maje&s;ties Plea&s;ure it &s;hould be &s;o, and the Variation of Circum&s;tances with|out the Ma&s;ters Knowledge, did not alter the ca&s;e as to him.</P>
<P>The Circum&s;tances that altered were two, the one, that old <HI>Glencoe</HI> took the Oath after the Dyet, which &s;hould have prcoured him Mercy, and next the manner of Execution by Souldiers lodged in the Place, both were altogether unknown to the Ma&s;ter.</P>
<P>No Body loads the Ma&s;ter with the la&s;t and great Circum&s;tance, which relates to all the Per&s;ons &s;lain: but the other Circum&s;tance of Old <HI>Glencoes</HI> having taken the Oath, is alledged to have been known to the Ma&s;ter, and the Report of the Commi&s;&s;ion is not po&s;itive in that Point, but it &s;ayes that it appears the &s;ame was knowen.</P>
<P>To this its an&s;wered. I. That if it can be in&s;tructed, that the Ma&s;ter did know of Old <HI>Glencoes</HI> taking the Oath, whether legally or not legally at the time of writing any of the Letters preceeding the Slaughter, whereof the la&s;t is dated the 30. of <HI>Jan.</HI> 1692. in that ca&s;e the Ma&s;ter would be wil|ling to forefeit his Reputation, Life, and Fortune: &s;o that it is &s;till po&s;itively and peremptorly a&s;&s;er|ted, that the Ma&s;ter was wholly ignorant of that Circum&s;tance.</P>
<P>The Evidence upon which the Report of the Ma&s;ters Knowledge of that Circum&s;tance proceeds, is the &s;ame Letter of the thirtieth of <HI>January,</HI> bearing, I <HI>am Glad</HI> Glencoe <HI>did not come in within the time pre&s;cribed,</HI> &amp;c. from whence it is inferred, that he knew of <HI>Glencoes</HI> coming in after the time elap&s;ed, which is a very wide Con&s;equence, <HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> The embraceing the Indemnity, &s;uppo&s;es the com|ing
<PB N="3" REF="2" MS="y">in, in due time, and the Indemnity being in his view, he had no eye, nor Con&s;ideration of what followed.</P>
<P N="2">2. That Letter could never be the Warrand of Sir <HI>Thomas Living&s;tons</HI> Order, upon which the Ex|ecution followed, becau&s;e Sir <HI>Thomas</HI> his Order is upon the 23 of the &s;aid Moneth, &s;even days prece|ding.</P>
<P N="3">3. His Letter of the &s;ame date direct to Collonel <HI>Hill,</HI> bears in the beginning, that he doubted not the Collonel would make the be&s;t u&s;e of the pre&s;ent Circum&s;tance, and where <HI>Glencoe</HI> is mentioned, it is &s;aid he is fallen in the Mercy of the Law, and &s;hortly after he adds the&s;e fal&s;e People will do no|thing, but as they &s;ee you in condition to do with them, by the fir&s;t and la&s;t of which Clau&s;es, which afterwards will be more largely related, it is evident that the Ma&s;ter leaves all to the Collonells Management, to whom the Order was al&s;o directed; and by the middle Clau&s;e, that <HI>Glencoe</HI> was &s;till con&s;idered as in the mercy of Law, which clears that the Ma&s;ter did not under&s;tand him to be under any Security by taking the Oaths, neither can the&s;e Letters be reckoned peremptor, becau&s;e all is thereby left to the Di&s;cretion and Management of the Per&s;ons to whom they are directed.</P>
<P>And whereas it hath been further &s;aid, that whether the Ma&s;ter knew of <HI>Glencoes</HI> taking the Oaths or not, yet his Letters are more peremptor than the Kings In&s;tructions, in &s;o far as the Kings In&s;tru|ctions are qualified, and bear power to give Terms, and &s;everal of the Ma&s;ters Letters are peremp|tor for the De&s;truction of <HI>Glencoe,</HI> without mentioning the Quality which the In&s;tructions do contain, and even the mo&s;t peremptor In&s;truction again&s;t <HI>Glencoe,</HI> bearing, that if they could be well &s;eparat from the re&s;t, it would be a proper Vindication of publict Ju&s;tice to ex&s;tirpat that Sect of Theives, does not take off the Quality, that they might be received upon Mercy.</P>
<P>It is an&s;wered, 1. Though the Ma&s;ters Letters were more Peremptor than the Kings In&s;tructions; yet if they were within the Terms, and not exceeding the Rigours which the Law allows, the Ma|&s;ter could never be quarreled upon the&s;e; for either they were to be con&s;idered as writ by the Ma|&s;ter of <HI>Stair</HI> a privat Per&s;on, in which ca&s;e they could afford no Authority, or Warrand to Impair or Extend the Kings In&s;tructions: and the&s;e to whom the In&s;tructions were directed, were bound to obey them, and not privat Letters; Or if the Ma&s;ters Letters were con&s;idered as flowing from the Secretary of State, the Kings Authority is pre&s;umed to be there. And none can quarrel any Expre&s;|&s;ion in the&s;e Letters, except the King him&s;elf, unle&s;s the Kings Authority were u&s;ed to a thing in it &s;elf unlawful, which could not be pretended; in &s;o far as the <HI>Glencoe</HI> men being under&s;tood to be fore|feited ob&s;tinat Rebels, they were ab&s;olutely in the mercy of Law to be Cut off, or de&s;troyed by Mi|litary Execution, without any mercy.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>Et &s;eparatim,</HI> It is po&s;itively a&s;&s;erted, that there is not one Circum&s;tance in the Ma&s;ters Letters beyond the Kings In&s;tructions, but all the Letters do bear Qualities in them, whereby they are to be con&s;tructed &s;uitable and agreeable to the In&s;tructions in all Points.</P>
<P>For clearing of this Point, its to be con&s;idered. 1. That nothing can be founded upon Letters po&s;terior to the Fact, whereof there are two; One of which bears, that the Execution was neither &s;o full nor &s;o fair, as it might have been, which blames and di&s;approves of the manner. And any Ex|pre&s;&s;ion of the&s;e Letters that may be Interpreted a ju&s;tifieing of Severity, is rather to be con&s;idered a covering of an Error and E&s;cape, than an Approbation of what had pa&s;t, and many things will be excu&s;ed when they are done, that a rea&s;onable man would not advi&s;e nor practi&s;e; neither can it be &s;uppo&s;ed, that the wor&s;t of the Circum&s;tances were known, &s;uch as the Murder under Tru&s;t.</P>
<P N="2">2. Nothing can be founded on the two Letters the thirtieth of <HI>January,</HI> though the&s;e do preceed the Execution; becau&s;e no Direction or In&s;truction followed upon the Letters of the 30th. In &s;o far as Lieute|nnant Collonel <HI>Hamiltons</HI> Orders, both from Sir <HI>Thomas</HI> &amp; Collonel <HI>Hill</HI> were not only before the&s;e Orders could come to hand, but dated the 23d. of the &s;ame month of <HI>January,</HI> &s;even days before the Ma|&s;ters Letter, and their was no po&s;terior Orders directed upon Receipt of them, neither did the&s;e Letters exceed the Kings Warrand: in as far as they bear &s;till a Reference to the prudence and management of the&s;e to whom they are directed. And the Letter to Sir <HI>Thomas,</HI> contains a Clau&s;e after &s;everal parti|culars mentioned, <HI>viz, In the&s;e you can only be advi&s;ed, but mu&s;t be left to pro&s;ecute them as the State of Affairs will allow</HI> And thereafter, de&s;ires him to communicat the&s;e Particulars to Collonel <HI>Hill,</HI> and that he would not be too far engaged with his Neighbours in Treaty, before he had heard of the Surrender of the&s;e two places, which were forgot in the In&s;tructions: and the Words in relation to <HI>Glencoe,</HI> are not Commands but Advices. Fir&s;t, he &s;ays <HI>I hope</HI> what is done may be in earne&s;t: Again, I <HI>think</HI> to herry their Cattle and burn their Hou&s;es, would render them de&s;perat Lawle&s;s men to Rob their Neighbours: But <HI>I Believe,</HI> ye will be &s;atisfied. It were an advantage to the N<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">tion they were rooted out, which are not words of Command or Direction, nor in the lea&s;t excluding the prudent Management which the King re&s;erved to Sir <HI>Thomas:</HI> and they are not &s;o peremptor as the Words of the In&s;truction, bearing, That if they could be &s;eparated from the re&s;t, they &s;hould be Ex&s;tirpated.</P>
<P>In like manner, the Ma&s;ters Letter of the &s;ame Date to Collonel <HI>Hill,</HI> bears, I doubt not you will as the Circum&s;tances will allow, make the be&s;t u&s;e of them that may be; <HI>Therefore at a Di&s;tance, you cannot receive furder Directions, than what you have under the Kings Hand;</HI> And thereafter he &s;ays, when any thing concerning <HI>Glencoe</HI> is re&s;olved, let it be &s;ecret and &s;udden: better not to meddle with them, than not do it to purpo&s;e, to cut off that Ne&s;t of Robbers who have fallen in the mercy of the Law. And thereafter he &s;ays, The&s;e fal&s;e people will do nothing but as they &s;ee you in Condition to do with them. And thereafter he &s;ays, they play fa&s;t and loo&s;e, as they find them&s;elves pre&s;&s;ed: there|fore
<PB N="4" REF="3">all <HI>I</HI> can &s;ay, is better get their Hou&s;es and their Strength, than all A&s;&s;urance we can have from them; Deal with them as you find their Con&s;ternation and your Circum&s;tances allows; but by all means be quick, that nothing remain till the <HI>Summer</HI> that they can have help.</P>
<P>The whole Tenor of the&s;e Letters clear, that the Ma&s;ter was far from de&s;igning to re&s;train Sir <HI>Tho|mas</HI> or the Collonel from the management of the Affair committed to their care, or excluding the Rebels from the benefit of His Maje&s;ties Bounty allowed to be extended to them, in ca&s;e of their offering Submi&s;&s;ion to Sir <HI>Thomas.</HI></P>
<P>The next Point to be cleared is, That none of the Letters preceeding the Date of Sir <HI>Thomas</HI>'s Order, did exceed the Terms of Law, or the Kings In&s;tructions. This doth appear from the Terms of the Letters which the Ma&s;ter wi&s;hed to have had Printed. The preceeding Letters are &s;even in num|ber, whereof the fir&s;t two Direct to Lieutennant Collonel <HI>Hamilton</HI> on the 1&s;t. and 3d. of <HI>December</HI> 1691, contain nothing but Expo&s;tulations. That the&s;e unhappy men deluded them&s;elves with the hopes of better Terms and new Dyets, and that they would get off without taking the Oaths, and foretelling that the <HI>Macdonalds</HI> would fall in the Net, and in the mercy of Law, and blaming &s;uch as did Ob&s;truct their Submi&s;&s;ions, and no bad Commentar can be made upon the&s;e.</P>
<P>The next Letter is of the 7th of <HI>Janaury</HI> direct to Sir <HI>Thomas Livingstoun,</HI> when the dyet was elap&s;ed, and adverti&s;ing h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">m that the Rebels would be pro&s;ecuted, and that powers would be given to him, which he a&s;&s;ures would be full enough <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> and hopes that the Souldiers will not trouble the Government with Pri&s;oners, and that the &s;lighting of mercy, and depending upon Forraign a&s;i&s;tance will ju&s;tify all the &s;everity can be u&s;ed again&s;t them, and adds I know well, they are cheated with the hopes of prolonging the dyet, and having the benefit of Indemnity without Oaths, and more money, but in all the&s;e they are deluded, and we mu&s;t make &s;ure of them before they can get the&s;e Sup|plies from <HI>France</HI> they depend on, In all this there is nothing ami&s;s but an evidence of great Loyalty, and affection and a ju&s;t zeal again&s;t ob&s;tinat Rebels, who every &s;ea&s;on put the Nation under the haza<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">d of an Inva&s;ion by a cruel and powerful Enemy.</P>
<P>The next Letter is the 9th direct to Sir <HI>Thomas,</HI> and to the &s;ame purpo&s;e in which he &s;ayes, I do not &s;ee how new Treaties and Terms can be entred into, which can only be to pre&s;erve them till help be had, Then he adds towards the end, I think it ju&s;t that powers be lodged with you, who I know will u&s;e them di&s;creetly for the Common-well, and adds that if they got not encouragement from others than the Ma&s;ter or Sir <HI>Thomas,</HI> not one man would have &s;tood out.</P>
<P>This Letter relates to In&s;tructions to be made, and promi&s;ed that Powers would be Lodged with Sir <HI>Thomas,</HI> which was accordingly done by the fourth Article of the fir&s;t In&s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">uction.</P>
<P>The next Letter is of the 11th. of <HI>January,</HI> of the Date of the fir&s;t In&s;tructions, This is one of the chief Letters founded upon in the Report which doth only notice this Clau&s;e that the Earl of <HI>Argyle</HI> hath ju&s;t now told me that <HI>Glencoe</HI> had not taken the Oath at which I rejoyce; It's a great work of Charity to be exact in Rooting out that Damnable Sect the wor&s;t in all the <HI>High-lands:</HI> but the Commi&s;&s;ion takes no notice of the other Clau&s;es of the &s;ame Letter which Demon&s;tratively clear that nothing of that Letter was de&s;ign'd to Cut off Sir <HI>Thomas</HI>'s power to manage according to di&s;|cretion in as far as it bears, I have &s;ent you the King's In&s;tructions <HI>Super</HI> and &s;ub&s;cribed by him&s;elf, I am confident you will &s;ee there are full Powers given you in very plain Terms, and yet the me|thods left very much to your own Di&s;cretion &amp; thereafter another Clau&s;e bears, it is nece&s;&s;ary you own that you have Power, and then proceeds to advi&s;e how he &s;hould Treat and Manage the&s;e Powers.</P>
<P>There remains only two Letters dated the 16th. which are of the date of the la&s;t In&s;tructions, bear|ing that if <HI>Glencoe</HI> could be <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ell &s;eparat from the re&s;t, it would be a proper Vindication of Ju&s;tice to ex&s;tirpat that Sect; The words chiefly noticed by the Commi&s;&s;ion in that Letter are the&s;e, I <HI>intreat you that for a ju&s;t Vengeance and publick advantage, the Thieving Tribe of Glencoe may be Rooted out to purpo&s;e:</HI> But &s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ll the Tenor of the Letter and Clau&s;e clearing the De&s;ign are Omitted, neither is that very Clau&s;e &s;everer, than the Terms of the In&s;tructions, <HI>to ex&s;tirpat that Sect of Thieves for the Vindication of publick Justice,</HI> but furder to te&s;tifie that the &s;aid Clau&s;e did not exclud mercy and power to manage according to di&s;cretion; The Letter to Sir <HI>Thomas Living&s;tone</HI> of that date is relative to the Additional In&s;tructions in the beginning of it. 2 It bears, the King doth not at all incline to receive any after the Term but on Mercy, nor will he alter the Terms of the In|demnity, for that is to make people always Dodge &amp; Hope for better Terms than the&s;e who obeyed and came in within the day, therefore, that is left intirely to your di&s;cretion according to Circum|&s;tances, but by no means leave any &s;tanding that may Incourage or invite the <HI>French</HI> to &s;end thi|ther Succours in the Spring, and in his Letter of the &s;ame date to Colonel <HI>Hill,</HI> he likewi&s;e re|lates to the In&s;tructions directed both to him a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">d to Sir <HI>Thomas;</HI> Then adds <HI>I know your Senti|ments will be the &s;ame but none knows what power the King hath given you</HI> Then follows a Clau&s;e in the&s;e Terms <HI>it were to be de&s;ired that the&s;e who &s;tood out till the Dyet was Elap&s;ed might be made Examples for their Folly, and that the&s;e &s;hould not have the &s;ame Terms or better then the&s;e who in time did obey, and the&s;e Rebels E&s;tates may be made a perpetual Fond for the Charge of the Gari&s;on. I am not for pun<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ilios to endanger a Di&s;grace to the King</HI>'s <HI>Forces,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>So the who&s;e tenor and &s;train of the&s;e Letters do clear, what&s;oever rigour was de&s;igned for <HI>Glen|coe.</HI> either by the in&s;tructions, or the Ma&s;ter of <HI>Stairs</HI> Letters. yet all was in the terms of Law, and with re&s;ervation to be u&s;ed by Sir <HI>Thomas,</HI> and Colonel <HI>Hill,</HI> according to di&s;cretion and Circum&s;tances.</P>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
