Presbyterian ministers to the Prince in London, assuring him that they were devoted to his service. They had gone to London at the suggestion of that gentleman, who cunningly arranged most of the Scottish affairs of this period. But though anxious for Presbytery himself, he admits, that the King would have given his sanction to Episcopacy: and that he consented to abolish it with difficulty.[1]
It is unnecessary to detail in this work the proceedings of the Scottish Convention, which issued in a tender of the crown to William and Mary, since my object is to give an account of the sufferers for conscience sake, who were deprived, as in England, of their preferments, for not taking the Oath to the new Sovereigns. It will, therefore, be sufficient to state, that the Presbyterian Church government was set up by Act of Parliament in 1690: and the ancient platform was cast down. Justice, however, must be done to William's character. He was anxious to tolerate such Episcopal Clergymen as were prepared to retain their stations, under the new order of things, provided they did not disturb his government: and in this respect, his conduct presents a bright contrast to that of the Presbyterians, who acted with all their former intolerance. Even Carstairs appears to have been afraid of the very men whom he had assisted to bring into power in the Church.[2]
When the Convention met, the Bishops as usual
- ↑ Carstairs's Life, &c. pp. 36—44. Birch admits, that "the true reason of the destruction of Episcopacy there, after the Revolution, is to be attributed to the conduct of the Bishops themselves, both previous and subsequent to it." He adds, that it was not possible for King William to preserve Episcopacy. Birch's Life of Tillotson, 308, 309.
- ↑ Carstairs, 44—50. Hallam, iii. 442, 443.
