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These oure Petitionis being proponed, the Estate Ecclesiasticall began to storme, and to devise all maner of leys to deface the equitie of our caus. Thei bragged as that thei wald have publict disputatioun, which also we most earnestlie requyred, two thingis being provided; the formare, that the plane and writtin Scriptures of God shuld decyde all contraversie; DISPUTATIOUN WITH CONDITIONIS Secoundlie, that our brethrene, of whom some war then exiled, and by them injustlie dampned, myght have free accesse to the said disputatioun, and salf conduct to returne to thair duelling places, nochtwithstanding any processe whiche befoir had bene led aganis thame in materis concernyng religioun. THE OFFER OF THE PAPISTIS But these being by thame utterlie denyed, (for no judge wold thei admitt bot thame selfis, thare Counsallis, and Cannon law,) thei and thare factioun began to draw certane Articles of reconciliation, promissing unto us, yf we wold admitt the Messe, to stand in hir formare reverence and estimatioun, grant Purgatorie after this lyiff, confesse Prayer to Sanctes and for the dead, and suffer thame to enjoye thare accustomed renttis, possession, and honour, that then thei wold grant unto us to pray and baptize in the vulgare toung, so that it war done secreatlie, and nott in the open assemblie. But the grosness of these Articles wes suche, that with ane voce we refused thame; and constantlie craved justice of the Quein Regent, and a reasonable answer of our formare Petitionis. THE GRANT OF THE QUEIN REGENT The Quein, then Regent, ane woman crafty, dissimulate, and fals, thinking to mak hir proffeit of both parteis, gave to us permissioun to use our selfis godlye according to our desyres, providit that we should not maik publict assembleis in Edinburgh nor Leyth; and did promeise hir assistance to our Preacheouris, untill some uniforme ordour myght be established by a Parliament. To thame, (we meane to the Cleargy,) she quietlie gave significatioun of hir mynd, promissing that how sone any oportunitie should serve, she should so putt ordour in thare materis, that after thei should not be trubled; for some say thei gave hir a large purse,¹ 40,000 lib., sayis the Chronicle,² gathered by the Lard of Erleshall.³ We, nothing suspecting hir dowblenes nor falshode, departed, fullelie contented with hir answer; and did use our selfis so qwietlie, that for hir pleasour we putt silence to Johne Dowglass, who publictlie wold have preached in the toune of Leyth; for in all thingis we soght the contentment of hir mynd, so far furth as God should not be offended against us for obeying hir in thingis unlawfull.

Schortlie after these thingis, that cruell tyrant and unmercyfull hypocrite, falselie called Bischope of Sanctandrois, apprehended that blessed martyre of Christ Jesus Walter Myln;⁴ a man of decrepite age, whome most cruellie and most unjustlie be put to death by fyre in Sanctandrois, the twenty awcht day of Aprile, the year of God J^m. V^c. fyfty aught yearis: Whiche thing did so heighlie offend the hartis of all godlye, that immediatlie after his death began a new fervencie amongis the hole people; yea, evin in the toune of Sanctandrois, begane the people plainelie to dampne suche injust crueltie; and in testificatioun that thei wold his death should abide in recent memorie, thare was castin together a great heape of stones in the place whare he was brynt. The Bischope and Preastis thairat offended, caused ones or twyse to remove the same, with denunciatioun of Cursing, yf any man should thare lay ony stone. Bott in vane was that wynd blowen; for still was the heape maid, till that Preastis and Papistis did steall away by nycht the stones to big thare walles, and to uther thare privat uses.⁵

We suspecting nothing that the Quein Regent wes consenting to the foirnamed murther, most humilie did complayne of suche injust crueltie, requiring that justice in suche cases should be ministrate with greattare indifference. Sche, as a woman borne to dissemble and deceave, began with us to lament the crueltie of the Bischope, excusing hir self as innocent in that caus; for that the sentence was gevin without hir knowledge, becaus the man sometymes had bene ane Preast; tharefoir the Bischop's Officiare⁶ did proceid upon him without any commissioun of the civile authoritie Ex officio, as thei terme it.

We yit nothing suspectand hir falsheid, requyred some ordour to be tackin against such enormities, whiche sche promissed as oft befoir. Bot becaus schorte after thare wes a Parliament to be haldin, for certane effares pertenyng rather to the Quenis proffeit particulare, nor to the commoditie of the commoun wealth, we thocht good to expone our mater unto the hole Parliament, and by thame to seak some redress. We tharefoire, with one consent, did offer to the Quein and Parliament⁷ a Lettir in this tennour:—

The Forme of the Lettir gevin in Parliament.

"Unto youre Grace, and unto yow, Rycht Honorable Lordis of this present Parliament, humlie meanes and schawes your Grace's faithfull and obedient Subjectis: That quhare we ar dalie molested, sklandered, and injured be wicked and ignorant personis, place-haldaris of the ministers of the Churche, who most untrewlie cease nott to infame us as Heretickis, and under that name thei most cruellie haif persecuted diverse of our brethrein; and farder intend to execute thare malice against us, onles be some godlie ordour thare fury and raige be brydilled and stayed; and yitt in us thei ar able to prove no cryme worthy of punishment, onless that to read the Holie Scriptures in our assembleis, to invocat the name of God in publict prayeris, with all sobrietie to interprete and open the places of Scripture that be redd, to the farther edificatioun of the brethrein assembled, and trewlie according to Christ Jesus his holy institutioun to minister the Sacramentes, be crymes worthy of punishment. Other crymes, (we say,) in us thei ar not abill to convict. And to the premisses ar we compelled; for that the saidis place-haldaris discharge no parte of thare deuiteis rychtlie till us, nether yitt to the people subject to us; and thairfoir, onless we should declair our selfis altogether unmyndfull of our awin salvatioun, we ar compelled, of verray conscience, to seak how that we and our brethrein may be delivered from the thraldome of Sathan. PROTESTATIOUN For now it hath pleased God to open our eyes, that manifestlie we see, that without extreame danger of our sowlles, we may in no wyise communicat with the damnable idolatrie, and intolerable abuses of the Papisticall Churche; and thairfoir most humblie requyre we of your Grace, and of yow Rycht Honorable Lordis, Baronis, and Burgesses assembled in this present Parliament, prudentlie to wey, and as it becum⁸ just judges, to grant these our maist just and reasonable Petitionis.—

"First, Seing that the contraversie in religioun, which long hath continewed betuix the Protestants of Almany, Helvetia, and other provinces, and the Papisticall Churche, is not yitt decyded by a lauchfull and Generall Counsall; and seing that our consciences ar lyikwyes towcheit with the fear of God, as was thares in the begynnyng of thare contraversie, we most humlie desyre, that all suche Actes of Parliament, as in the tyme of darknes gave power to the Churche men to execute thare tyranny aganis us, be reasoun that we to thame wor delated as Heretiques, may be suspended and abrogated, till a Generall Counsall lawfullie assembled have decyded all contraverseis in religioun.

"And least that this mutatioun shuld seame to sett all men at libertie to lyve as thame list, We Secundarelie requyre, That it be enacted by this present Parliament, that the Prelattis and thare Officiaris⁹ be removed from place of judgement; onlie granting unto thame, nocht the less, the place of accusatouris in the presence of a temporall judge, befoir whom the Churche men accusatouris salbe bundin to call any by thame accused of heresye, to whome also thei salbe bundin to deliver ane authentik copy of all depositionis, accusationis, and process led against the persone accused; the judge lykewyis delivering the same to the partie accused, assignyng unto him a competent terme to answer to the same, after he hath takin sufficient cautioun de judicio sisti.

"Thridly, We requyre, that all lawfull defences be granted to the personis accused; as yf he be able to prove, that the witnesses be personis unable by law to testifie aganis thame, that then thare accusationis and depositionis be null according to justice.

"Item, That place be granted to the partie accused, to explane and interprite his awin mynd and meanyng; which confessioun we requyre be inserted in publict Actes, and be preferred to the depositionis of any witnesses, seing that nane owght to suffer for religioun, that is not found obstinat in his damnable opinioun.

"Last, We requyre, that our brethrene be not dampned for Hereticques, onles, by the manifest word of God, thei be convicted to have erred from that faith whiche the Holy Spreit witnesseth to be necessarie to salvatioun; and yf so thei be, we refuise nott bot that thei be punished according to justice, onles by holsome admonitioun thei can be reduced to a better mynd.

"These thingis requyre we to be considered of yow, who occupy the place of the Eternall God, (who is God of ordour and trewth,) evin in suche sorte as ye will answer in the presence of his throne judiciall: Requyring farder, that favorablie ye will have respect to the tendernes of our consciences, and to the truble which appeareth to follow in this commoun wealth, yf the tyranny of the Prelattis, and of thare adherentis, be nott brydilled by God and just lawis. God move your hartes deeplie to considder your awin dewiteis and our present trubles."

These our Petitionis did we first present to the Quein Regent, becaus that we war determined to interprise nothing without hir knowledge, most humlie requyring hir favorable assistance in our just actioun. Sche spared nott amyable lookis, and good wordes in aboundance; bot alwayis sche keaped our Bill close in hir pocket. When we requyred secreatlie of hir Grace, that our Petitionis should be proponed to the hole Assemblie, sche ansured, "That sche thought nott that expedient; for then wold the hole Ecclesiasticall Estate be contrarie to hir proceadingis, which at that tyme war great;" for the Matrimoniall Croune was asked, and in that Parliament granted.¹⁰ "Bot, (said sche,) how sone ordour can be tacken with these thingis, which now may be hyndered by the Kirk men, ye shall know my goode mynd; and, in the meantyme, whatsoevir I may grant unto yow, shall glaidlie be granted."

We yitt nothing suspecting hir falshode, was content to geve place for a tyme to hir pleasour, and pretended reasoun; and yitt thocht we expedient somewhat to protest befoir the dissolutioun of the Parliament; for our Petitionis war manifestlie knowen to the hole Assemblie, as also how, for the Quenis pleasour, we ceassed to persew the uttermost. Our Protestatioun was formed in manor following:—

Forme of the Protestatioun maid in Parliament.

"It is not unknawin to this honorable Parliament, what contraversie is now laitlie rissin betuix those that wilbe called the Prelattis and rewlarris of the Church, and a great number of us, the Nobilitie and commonaltie of this Realme, for the trew wirschipping of God, for the dewitie of Ministeris, for the rycht administratioun of Christ Jesus holie Sacramentis: how that we have complained by our publict supplicationis to the Quene Regent, that our consciences ar burdened with unprofitable ceremonies, and are compelled to adhear to idolatrie; that such as tack upoun thame the office Ecclesiasticall, discharge no parte thareof, as becumith trew ministeris to do; and finallie, that we and our brethrein ar most unjustlie oppressed by thare usurped authoritie. And also we suppose it is a thing sufficientlie knowin, that we wer of mynd at this present Parliament to seik redress of suche enormiteis; bot, considering that the trubles of the tyme do nott suffer suche Reformatioun as we, by Goddis plane word, do requyre, we ar enforced to delay that which most earnestlie we desyre; and yitt, least that our silence should geve occasioun to our adversaries to think, that we repent our formare interprise, we can not cease to protest for remedy against that most unjust tyranny, which we heirtofoir most patientlie have susteaned.

"And, First, We protest, that seing we can not obtene ane just Reformatioun, according to Goddis worde, that it be lauchfull to us to use oure selfis in materis of religioun and conscience, as we must ansuer unto God, unto suche tyme as our adversaries be able to prove thame selfis the trew ministers of Christes Churche, and to purge thame selfis of suche crymes as we have already layed to thare charge, offering our selfis to prove the same whensoever the Sacrat Authoritie please to geve us audience.

"Secundlie, We protest, that nether we, nor yit any other that godlie list to joyne with us in the trew faith, whiche is grounded upoun the invincible worde of God, shall incure any danger in lyiff or landis, or other politicall paines, for nott observing suche Actes as heirtofoir have passed in favouris of our adversaries, neyther yit for violating of suche rytes as man without God's commandiment or worde hath commanded.

"We, Thridly, protest, that yf any tumult or uproare shall aryise amanges the membres of this realme for the diversitie of religioun, and yf it shall chance that abuses be violentlie reformed, that the cryme thairof be not impute to us, who most humlie do now seak all thinges to be reformed by ane ordour: LETT THE PAPISTIS OBSERVE Bot rather whatsoever inconvenient shall happin to follow for lack of ordour tacken, that may be imputed to those that do refuise the same.

"And last, We protest, that these our requeastis, proceading from conscience, do tend to none other end, bot to the Reformatioun of abuses in Religioun onlie: Most humilie beseiking the Sacred Authoritie to tak us, faithfull and obedient subjectis, in protectioun against our adversaries; and to schaw unto us suche indifferencie in our most just Petitionis, as it becumeth God's Lievetenentis to do to those that in his name do call for defence against cruell oppressouris and bloode thrustie tyrantes."¹¹