To make appear to your Majefty, that thefe Things were done for private and finifter Defigns, and not upon account of the ill Affectedness or factious Difpofitions of the Men, as was pretended; your Majefty is humbly prayed to take Notice of thefe Particulars following:

First, There are three of the moft confiderable of thefe very Perfons who had been 'charged with fo great Crimes, admitted fince that Time, by bribing the Dutchefs of Lauderdale, into a Truft in your Majefty's Affairs in Scotland, more eminent and confiderable than any Truft the Town of Edinburgh can confer, (viz.). The paying of your Majefty's Forces, and bringing in your Majesty's

Excife.

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Secondly, No fooner were these twelve Men turned out of the Town Council, but after many great and effential Informalities (with the Recital of which it is needlefs to trouble your Majefty) they elected for Magiftrates Men of no Reputation, either for Parts, Eftate, or Honefty: And though thefe Bonds and Securities, which had been demanded from the others, and confented to by them, were formerly pretended to be of great Importance for your Majefty's Service, yet they were not fo much as once demanded, either by the Duke of Lauderdale, or the Lord Hatton, from thefe Men who were chofen.

Thirdly, Thefe new Magiftrates were not long in their Seats, when off comes the Mask, and the true Defign of getting Money appears. For by an Act of the Town Council, there is about Five Thousand Pounds Sterling disposed on amongst their nameless Friends, which were the Duke of Lauderdale, the Lord Hatton, and fome other of their Friends. A great Sum to be got from that City, confidering that the Duke of Lauderdale had got before that about Twelve Thousand Pounds Sterling from them..

The Dutchess of Lauderdale did alfo fince that Time endeavour to get more Money from them, and did with great Wrath threaten the Magiftrates in plain Terms, for not giving her a Prefent, notwithstanding all the Good the faid The had done for them; reckoning the Favours your Majefty hath at any Time been pleafed to bestow upon them, as done by herself.

Thus hath that poor Town been abused, and doth now lie, having Magiftrates without either Conduct or Courage, in a Time when the Disorders of that Nation, do require Perfons to be employed there of eminent Fidelity and Capacity to ferve your Majefty.

Some farther Matter of Fact relating to the Adminiftration of Affairs in SCOTLAND, under the Duke of LAUDERDALE. Humbly offered to his MAJESTY'S Confideration in Obedience to his Royal Commands. That the Duke of LAUDERDALE was concerned in the Defign of bringing in of POPERY and ARBITRATY GOVERNMENT, may appear by these following Particulars, &c.

I.

IRST, in Anno 1669, when he knew that the Duke had changed his Religion, he procured an A&t in Scotland for afferting the King's Supremacy; which he made the Prefbyterian-Party believe was to empower the King to put down Epifcopacy, and fet up Prefbytery, (the very Words of it.) The Difpofal of the External Government of the Church, is put abfolutely in the King's Power; as also all Ecclefiaftical Meetings and Meeters are to be ordered by the King.

Now the Acknowledgment of the Pope is a great Part of the Ecclefiaftical Government; befides, the other Words are fo comprehenfive, that all Popery may. be brought in at that Door. Soon after this, he entered into a firm Friendship with the Head of the Popish Party.

II.

At his next Seffion of Parliament, which was after Madam's being at Dover, in 1670, to fhew his farther Kindness to that Religion, he put in Words in the Seventh Act of that Seffion, against Withdrawers from publick Worship; which fecured Papifts from all Troubles: For the Act runs only against his Majesty's Subjects of the Reformed Religion; for that Papifts are exprefsly excepted, and the Words he put in with his own Hand in the Draught of that A&t.

III.

Whereas he first procured the A&t that was paft Anno 1667, that offered the King an Army of Twenty-two Thousand Men to be brought into England for any Caufe in which his Majefty's Honour, Power, and Greatnefs was concerned; which was generally paffed as a Compliment, and continued fo till the Year 1669, that other Defign being projected in England by the Papists.

He to be ready to fecond that, raised this Army, and procured another Act, which is the fecond in the first Seffion of the Parliament held by him; by which the former Act was not only confirmed, but it was ordered that this Army should obey the Order of the Council, without naming the King at all, which, as he has managed it, is upon the Matter himself. And of late, before the Discovery of the Plot, he defigned to convert the Twenty-two Thousand Men to a Standing Army, as an Addition to the new Forces raised laft Summer, to be conftantly maintained by all Subjects; contrary to the true Meaning of the first or fecond Acts of Parliament relating to that Purpofe, and directly against the fun

damental

damental Conftitutions of the Nation, to impofe Burthens upon it without Confent of Parliament.

IV.

When he went down Anno 1673, to fee if he could draw down this Army to England (finding he could not effect it, that Nation not being able to fupport this Tyranny longer) he first wearied the Members of Parliament with often Adjournments, and finding in the End that Artifice and other Tricks would not do, he diffolved the Parliament, that he might proceed there, confonant to the Counsel he gave here; and fet up a bare-faced arbitrary Power there, which he has fo much advised and preffed here; and has ever fince taken all the ways he could fall on to force the Nation to a Rebellion, by illegal Imprifonments, unjuft Accufations, falfe Reports made to the King, taking away from the Subjects the Right of Propriety, their limitable Jurifdictions by the Council's Order, grounded upon Letters procured by him from the King, and put in Execution by his Brother Hatton, by wrongful turning out Bifhops, Minifters of State, Magiftrates, and others, by cruel and illegal Sentences, Banifhments, and Fines; fome whereof he difpofed to Penfioners, Relations of his own, by Grants obtained from the King here, which bear Date before the Fines were judicially impofed in Scotland.

And likewife by bringing a Man to die, whom he had perfuaded to confels upon Hopes of Life; and afterwards forfwore that he had promifed, though it ftands yet registered upon the Council's Book. By fending Shipfuls to be Slaves in English Plantations, which he justified here at Council-board in Whitehall. By impofing Bonds against Law. And above all, by fending an Army of Nine or Ten Thousand Men, moft of them Highlanders, to lie upon Free-quarter, and rob and spoil a Country that was in no Rebellion, nor could any Colour of faying they intended any, be ever found now or fince. This he did last Year, thinking that would certainly make them rebel, and fo have given a juft Cause for keeping up a Standing Army both there and here. And that being at the Time when the Papifts thought the Plot fo near Perfection, was certainly in Conjunction with them, having prepared above Eight Thoufand Horfe and Foot, with Officers of his own Stamp, to execute his Defign. It is more than probable that it was for the Intelligence his Lady gave of this, that the Cardinal of Norfolk fent his Thanks to her.

V.

Whereas there are but few Papifts in Scotland, he hath given these all the Encouragements he could. The Earl of Aboins, who was oft complained of to the Council by the Bishops for keeping many Priefts in his Houfe, and being a main Stickler for Popery, he made a Privy-Counsellor, and gave him a Penfion, though he has never fince gone to Church, nor received the Sacrament. The Earl of Northdale, another furious Papift, in Command of the new Forces he raised (and fo is Lord and King) and both thofe two were laft Year employed by him in the plundering of the Weft of Scotland, &c. And there being in Scotland but five Noblemen that are Papifts, four of them have been fupported and maintained by him, &c.

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VI.

VI..

He was a principal Inftrument in procuring the Toleration of Popery, and courted them into fworn Friendship with the Lord Clifford; and preferred the Declaration and other the King's Edicts at the Council-Board, to Law, &c. He preffed the King to break with his Parliament, and maintain the Declaration, and to take the Great Seal from the Earl of Shaftesbury, for giving him better Counsel, of which he has often boasted. He became alfo an Enemy to the Earl of Arlington, upon the fame Account, and has ever fince had an entire Friendship with the Lord Treafurer, for promoting thofe Ends he fupported the last Year Year against the juft Complaints the Scotch Lords made for Free Quarter and other barbarous Ufages which they met with, &c.

VII.

He became a Penfioner to France, from whom he received rich Prefents, and great Sums: Out of one of the Jewels which Monfieur Colbert gave him, he made his rich George. He always helped on the French Levies in Scotland, against the Treaties the King had made, and gave the French Officers the publick Prifons; yea, and the King's own Caftle of Edinburgh, of which he is Governor, to keep their Levies in, till the Ships are ready for their Transportation: He gave Order to his Brother to fet the Levies forward, and to prefs Men by Force into their Service; which being informed to the Houfe of Commons, he corrupted one of the Witneffes by Money to forfwear it; and this he did, after the Houfe of Commons had voted that any who affifted thofe Levies, fhould be looked upon as publick Enemies to the Nation. So much did he contribute to ferve the French King's Defigns; and particularly in the Year 1667. when Complaints were made to the King by Spanish Minifters, that Scotland Levies for France were a Breach of Treaty, his Majefty's Commiffioners ordered a Proclamation to be fent down immediately for the difcharging of them; but the Duke of Lauderdale dispatched an Exprefs to his Brother Hatton fecretly, to acquaint him that the Proclamation was coming, and that it fhould be kept up, until the levied Soldiers fhould be shipped and fent away, and then publifhed; which was accordingly performed. But for all the Hafte they made to fail, the Wind detained fome of their Veffels in the Road after the Proclamation, and did drive others back, which had been a good way gone, yet none durft ftop or trouble them, for fear of Hatton, who had always promoted thofe Levies, and had figned particular Warrants to feveral Prifon-keepers, for delivering their Prifons to the French Officers. He lived at that Time in fuch Intimacy with the French Embaffador, that they were hever afunder. He fent his Nephew to make Campaign in the French Army, and wrote to the English Embaffador to prefent him to the King; and tell him, That he had fent the dearest Thing be bad to his Service, and if he had any Thing dearer be would have fent it.

VIII.

He hath upon all Occafions fpoken of the Houfe of Commons with the greateft Contempt and Scorn poffible, calling it commonly, Bellua multorum Capitum; and ufually faid, if they would addrefs against him, he would fart against them, and that he would put a Dog in his Arfe and bark at them. And after boafted among his Creatures, That he had risen by his Addresses. For after one, he got himfelf made an Earl of England; after the other, he had a Penfion

of

of Three Thoufand Pounds per Annum in England, though he had above Nine Thousand Pounds per Annum in Scotland, of the King; and his ufual Word about the Commons it, Let them Bark, and he will Bite.

'IX.

Not long ago he carried a Perfon, known to be of a very mercenary Quality, before the King, and its like fuborned him to accufe fome of the Nobility of Scotland, and fay, They had inticed him to complain upon his Grace to the Commons in Parliament; thereby thinking not only to put thofe Noblemen out of the King's Favour, but alfo to beget in his Majefty an ill Opinion of the Houfe; but the Parties being convened before the King, his Majefty difcovered the Forgery, and ordered the cheating Rogue to Cuftody, where he yet lies under

Restraint.

X.

At his last being in Scotland, he forced all the Officers of State, and others, in both Civil and Military Employments, to hold, their Commiffions of the King durante beneplacito, which was never practifed in that Nation before; the Confequence thereof tends fo much to Arbitrary Power, that they need not be particularized; he put in and put out Members of the King's Council, according as they fuited his fecret Defigns. In a Word, he fo packed all the Judicatures, that Juftice and Equity have been adininiftered according to his Pleasure, under Colour of the Good of the Kingdom.

XI.

When the Treaty for the Union of both Kingdoms was fet on Foot, which had been a great Happinefs to both Nations, perceiving he should thereby loose that abfolute Power he had in Scotland, and not be able to profecute his Arbitrary Defigns, fet himself to a Breach; for which, this was his Argument, That it was rather the King's Intereft to keep the Kingdoms diftant, and to bold England under the Fear of the Scotch Army, which then he was raising and modelling.

XII.

He has lived in that Correfpondence with the Papifts and Priefts, that the Cardinal of Norfolk before he left England was perpetually at his House; he has kept conftant Correfpondence with Conyers and fome Jefuits; and at Rome he was called by one of the Pope's Bed-chamber, a great Friend of the Catholicks; and in all his Concerns, the Papifts were ftill on his Side. So that his late Proclamation against Papifts in Scotland hath been only a Mockery. Now fince the Plot is difcovered, to difguife his traiterous Confpiracies, which then, though upon Mr. Oates's Difcovery, he talked at the Board like one that believed it; yet he went ftrait to the Duke, and fpoke of it with all poffible Scorn, and caled it a Ridiculous Contrivance.

XIII.

First, That Colman's Letters were discharged to be made publick in Scotland. And next, his Trial being reprinted at Edinburgh, the Books were by a peremptory Order in Council ftopt at the Prefs, when finifhed almoft to the laft Sheet, not only to the Printer's great Damage, but to a manifeft Suppreffion of the Dif covery of that horrid Plot from the good People of this Nation, who were longing for the Particulars thereof. For is it not known, that Charles Milford of

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Hatton