WILLIAM AND MALY.

283

The arrival of Mackay’s troops, and the determination of chap.Gordon to remain inactive, quelled the spirit of the Jacobites. 168 3 ~They had indeed one chance left. They might possibly, byjoining with those Whigs who were bent on an union with Eng-land, have postponed during a considerable time the settle-ment of the government. A negotiation was actually openedwith this view, but was speedily broken off. For it soon ap-peared that the party which was for James was really hostile tothe union, and that the party which was for the union -was reallyhostile to James. As these two parties had no object in com-mon, the only effect of a coalition between them must havebeen that one of them would have become the tool of the other.

The question of the union therefore was not raised.* SomeJacobites retired to their country seats: others, though theyremained at Edinburgh, ceased to show themselves in the Par-liament House: many passed over to the winning side; and,when at length the resolutions prepared by the Twenty Fourwere submitted to the Convention, it appeared that the partywhich on the first day of the session had rallied round Athol haddwindled away to nothing.

The resolutions had been framed, as far as possible, in con- nesoin-formity with the example recently set at Westminster. In one posed i>yimportant point, however, it was absolutely necessary that the m ju ee .copy should deviate from the original. The Estates of Englandhad brought two charges against James, his misgovernmentand his flight, and had, by using the soft word “Abdication,”evaded, with some sacrifice of verbal precision, the questionwhether subjects may lawfully depose a bad prince. Thatquestion the Estates of Scotland could not evade. They couldnot pretend that James had deserted his post. For he hadnever, since he came to the throne, resided in Scotland. Duringmany years that kingdom had been ruled by sovereigns who+ Balcarras.