STATE OF THE NATION AT THAT PERIOD.

Certain it is, the pretender could not have chosen a more favourable opportunity for making a descent upon Scotland. The people in general were disaffected to the government on account of the union; the regular troops under Leven did not exceed five-and-twenty hundred men, and even great part of these would in all probability have joined the invader; the castle of Edinburgh was destitute of ammunition, and would in all appearance have surrendered at the first summons; in which case the Jacobites must have been masters of the equivalent money lodged in that fortress: a good number of Dutch ships, loaded with cannon, small arms, ammunition, and a large sum of money, had been driven on shore in the shire of Angus, where they would have been seized by the friends of the pretender, had the French troops been landed; and all the adherents of that house were ready to appear in arms. In England, such a demand was made upon the bank, by those who favoured the invasion, and those who dreaded a revolution, that the public credit seemed to be in danger. The commons resolved, that whoever designedly endeavoured to destroy or lessen the public credit, especially at a time when the kingdom was threatened with an invasion, was guilty of a high crime and misdemeanor, and an enemy to her majesty and the kingdom. The lord treasurer signified to the directors of the bank, that her majesty would allow for six months an interest of six per cent, upon their bills, which was double the usual rate; and considerable sums of money were offered to them by this nobleman, as well as by the dukes of Marlborough, Newcastle, and Somerset. The French, Dutch, and Jewish merchants, whose interest was in a peculiar manner connected with the safety of the bank, exerted themselves for its support; and the directors having called in twenty per cent, upon their capital stock, were enabled to answer all the demands of the timorous and disaffected. All the noblemen and persons of distinction in Scotland, suspected of an attachment to the court of St. Germain’s, were apprehended, and either imprisoned in the castle of Edinburgh, or brought up to London to be confined in the Tower or in Newgate. Among these was the duke of Hamilton, who found means to make his peace with the whig ministers; and, in a little time, the other prisoners were admitted to bail. 153 [See note 2 D, at the end of this Vol.]

ANNE, 1701—1714