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would be turbulent. The Parliament was that very Parliament- which had in 1G89 passed, by overwhelming majorities, all themost violent resolutions which Montgomery and his club couldframe, which had refused supplies, which had proscribed the mi-nisters of the Crown, which had closed the Courts of Justice, whichhad seemed bent on turning Scotland into an oligarchical republic.In 1G90 the Estates had been in a better temper. Yet, even in1690, they had, when the ecclesiastical polity of the realm wasunder consideration, paid little deference to what was W’ellknown to be the royal wish. They had abolished patronage;they had sanctioned the rabbling of the episcopal clergy; theyhad refused to pass a Toleration Act. It seemed likely thatthey would still be found unmanageable when questionstouching religion came before them; and such questions it wasunfortunately necessary to bring forward. William had, duringthe recess, attempted to persuade the General Assembly of theChurch to receive into communion such of the old curates asshould subscribe the Confession of Faith and should submit tothe government of Synods. But the attempt had failed; andthe Assembly had consequently been dissolved by the LordCommissioner. Unhappily, the Act which established thePresbyterian polity had not defined the extent of the powerwhich was to be exercised by the Sovereign over the SpiritualCourts. No sooner therefore had the dissolution been an-nounced than the Moderator requested permission to speak.He was told that he was now merely a private person. As aprivate person he requested a hearing, and protested, in theftame-of his brethren, against the royal mandate. The right,he said, of the office bearers of the Church to meet and de-liberate touching her interests was derived from her DivineHead, and was not dependent on the pleasure of the temporalmagistrate. His brethren stood up, and by an approvingmurmur signified their concurrence in what their President