SOME THOUGHTS CONCERNING The Affairs of this Session OF PARLIAMENT▪ 1700.  
— Quis, eum ruat ardnus Aether  
Complos tenuisse Manus.—  
Printed in the Year M. DCC.   

Some Thoughts concerning the Affairs of this Session of Parliament, 1700.  
OF all Governments Monarchy is the best, and least subject to Inconveniences; but because the Monarch is a man subject to Errors in Judgement, and capable of being biased in his Affections, it was therefore necessary, that the Commonwealth, as it gave him great Power over them, so it should assign him also the best Helps, for directing both his Will and Judgement.  
The first Help was Law, which is the Rule both to King and People.  
The second, were certain Councils and Counsellors with whom to consult in matters of most Importance, as we see in the Diets of Germany, the Courts of Spain, and the Parliament of England, without which no matters of moment can be concluded. The Romans had their Senate, and the Grecians their Ephori.  
As We are happy in a Limited Monarchical Government, so it has succeeded well with our Kings when they have had Wise Counselors, and have been advised by their Parliaments in things relating to the Public Good.  
The Nature of our Parliament is explained in the 8. Par. K. Ja. 6. Act 2. where it's said; That by the court of Parliament under GOD, the Kingdom hath been upholden; Rebellion, and Traitorous Subjects punished; the Good and Faithful Preserved, and maintained, and the Laws and Acts of Parliament (by which all good men are Governed) are made and established, etc.  
This Act was made whilst our King was yet amongst Ourselves, but no sooner did We lose Him, than We dwindled all of a sudden into old Age: and altho' the whole Island has been Christened by the Name of Great Britain, the English only have reaped the Honour and Advantage of this Union.  
Henry VII. of England said to one of his Counselors, that the Marriage between his Daughter, and Our King, would make Scotland an Accession to the Crown of England, some Way or other: nor could it be otherways, when our Kings, ever since the Union, have lived in England, and that the English being made secret to our nearest Concerns have had the Art to Influence Our Counsels for their own Interest.  
Kingdoms are United either when they become the same People in Subjection: (such is our Union with England) or when they are United in Laws and Interest; so that they become the same Commonwealth: one Head Rules them, and all inferior Members conspire for the Prosperity of the whole Body.  
The last of these Unions is Good for both: Whereas the first is neither lasting, nor can all Parties be justly dealt with by the same Master. We Know Portugal soon Revolted from Spain.  
If We are Stated, That, as the Poorer Part of this Island, We are to Enjoy nothing that the English may think of ill Consequence to them; The Question is, Whether We should prefer their Interest or our own? And surely, a just King who is Father of both countries, must be put to it, by Deliberate Reflections upon the Oaths He has taken to both Kingdoms.  
Our Secretaries who have been obliged to attend at Court, were the Persons by whom the Advice of the Privy Council concerning the Affairs of this Nation, has been communicated to our Kings, and by whom their Majesties have signified their Will to the Subject; But it may be doubted whether the Advice, followed by those Kings, has been that of England, that of the Secretaries, or that of the Council here  
By the great Trust Our Secretaries have, they ought to be Guardians to their Country; that by their Vigilant Care and Probity, Subjects may find experimentally, that they are as much for their Advantage, as they have Power and Dignity.  
No private Advantage, no Self-Ends should move them to Betray their Charge; No English Dependence should Dare them; but by their Virtue they should raise their Character above the Envy of wicked men.  
They should mind what Tacitus says; that tho' the Deliberations of all other men do commonly consist in the Considerations of Utility, and Profit, yet the state of a Prince is such that He ought principalie to respect Fame and Reputation.  
It should be a great Awe upon them to be Honest; that Favourites of Princes have been so often Sacrificed to an oppressed People.  
Plutarch sayeth that the Counsellors of Dionysius, Phalaris, and Apollodorus, were justly Tormented by the People; because he who Seduceth a Prince deserveth no less to be abhorred of all men, than one that should Poison a public Fountain, whereof all men should Drink.  
Henry VIII. in the Beginning of his Reign, to satisfy his English Subjects who Importuned Him for Justice against Emson and Dudley for the evil Council they had given to Henry VII. in matters of Exactions and Impositions, delivered them to be Punished according to Law.  
We might be liable to suffer, if we had no other to inform His Majesty, about our Ease and Riches, than Secretaries and Courtiers, from whom must depend the Character of every one in Public Trust here.  
It's our Parliaments therefore that have taken Notice of our Concerns▪ and it is to this Parliament we have Recourse for our present Affairs; seeing His Majesty is for the present so occupied in Managing the Interests of England and Holland, that He leaves tacitly to our Honourable Members of Parliament, not only to call missinformers to an Account, but to inform himself in every thing concerns our Good.  
We would have been very happy to have had the Presence of His Majesty in this Session of Parliament, according to His Royal Promise, which has been always necessary for us: That He might be informed at one View, what is fit to be done in every Juncture of Affairs, that He might know what part of His Kingdom Flourishes, and what part of it Languishes: That He who is above all in Honour and Authority, would be likeways Interessed for the Benefit of the Public, and that He might have Occasion to influence His People to their Duty, by His Piery Justice, Valour, Clemency, and other Princely Qualities.  
Noble was that Speech of Henry iv of France, and worthy of so good a King, when he Assembled the States of his Kingdom at Roven 1596. which he ends thus. I have not called you to this Place, as my predecessors have done, to oblige you blindly to approve of my Will; I have Summoned you to Receive, to Believe, and to Fellow Your Councils: In a Word, to make You my Guardians.  
How acceptable would such a discourse be to this present Parliament, from His Majesty? and what might we hope, but to be watched over; our Good, our Ease, and Welfare, to be the End of His Undertake, and the Happiness, Strength, Wealth, and Honour of our Country to be His Joy and Satisfaction.  
But it's You, most Honourable Members, He makes at present Judges of every thing is for the Benefit of this Nation, and in whose hands He Depositates His Royal Care of the People.  
And surely His Majesty, who has been our Deliverer, will Abominat that Base and Dishonourable Method Public Ministers had of Corrupting our Members of Parliament, by Places, Money, or Promises, to Betray the Interest of this Nation.  
Every one knows the Plot was first Hatched at Court, of making or abrogating such and such Laws: some Favourite read the List of our Members of Parliament, and as they found a Name for their purpose, they Marked it with a Capital Letter.  
If the Names marked did not exceed the Remainder of the List, so much Money was ordered to increase the Number: and this was recommended to the Management of the Commissioner, and Secretaries, who so soon as they Arrived in Scotland, set all Hands to Work for the Employing it to good purpose.  
May all our present Members of Parliament Detest those Ancient Vices, and Remember, that our King knows the Reward belongs to Merit; knows the Duty of a good Patriot, and the Treachery of one betrays His Country; Let them all then lay to Heart the good of this Kingdom.  
A Nobleman, as a Nobleman, is obliged to Employ his Powerful Assistance to the Public, to Maintain it with his Wealth, his Riches, and his Blood▪ He ought to be the Supporter and Pillar of his Country, a Defence to the Poor and oppressed, and a Check to the Violence of wicked Men. These were the Qualities have made the Predecessors of some of our Nobility so Famous in History, and their Memory so dear to Posterity.  
A Gentleman who's a Member of Parliament, is to be Faithful to his Trust, both out of Principles of Honour and Interest; for if We take away Honesty from him, He will differ nothing from the Refuse of Society; or by what other distinguishing Character can we know him from the Mob? If He betray the Liberties of his Country, how can He hope to transmit his Estate to his Heirs, or Secure his Friends from Slavery and Oppression▪  
And all Members of Parliament are to remember, that as they are the Representativ●… of this Nation, so they are the Protectors of its Privileges; who ought to Examine the Interest of the People, contribute to their Wealth and Security, be Mediators between them and His Majesty, endeavour to Remove ill Counselors from Him; And they ought to act in every part, as Men of Probity: Being bound to Discharge their Trust, both by Duty and Oath.  
Nor let them degenerate from that Boldness becomes every Man stands up for His Country; but be Courageous like Helvidius Priscus when he received a Message from the Emperor Vespasian, not to appear in the Senate, or if He came, not to interpose his Opinion in a Debate which was to be moved there; Sent back Word, that his Character of a Senator required his Attendance, nor would he balk any Thing that became him according to Conscience and Duty. Vespasian, provoked with what He thought insolence in this Reply, Threatened to put Him to Death. To which second Message He returned thus: Did I ever tell the Emperor that I was immortal? His Majesty, I suppose, will do His Pleasure and I will do my Duty; it is in his Power to put Me to Death unjustly, but it is in my Power to Die Virtuously.  
The preferring the Good of the Commonwealth to any self-Interest, is the greatest Ornament of the Soul; and when all our Actions are measured in Respect of their Objects, most Noble are these which Aim most at the Public Good; By which Virtue the Heathen Heroes became the People's Gods; whereas Private Interest has been always the Business of Slaves. Who is it deserves Universal Praise, but those who design Universal Advantages? those are deservedly called Fathers of their Country; and it should be enacted a Parricide▪ to wound the Reputation of such, whose▪ Fame shall be like Medals, grow still the more Illustrious the older they grow.  
Epaminondas is admired who was always more busied in raising the Glory of his Country than in heaping Pelf for himself. Decius who threw himself amongst his Enemies to gain a Victory to his Country shall live to Eternity. And for the love of their Country it was that Aristides of Athens, being sent Ambassador with Themistocles who was his Enemy, willed him, at their Departure out of Town, that they might leave all their Emulations.  
Although the Law of this Kingdom hath attained to a great Perfection by its few and clear Statutes, nevertheless as the Affairs of the World, and our own Circumstances Change, we must have Parliaments to Provide us with new Laws. I doubt not but our Parliament will take into their Consideration▪ our Trade, our Public Society's, our standing Army, and our Public Treasury. Upon which separately▪ I shall make these following Reflections.  
First, Trade is necessary to any Nation that either will have Riches, or their Poor Employed; and this is a Truth so well known, and all Nations persuaded of it, that the Thoughts of most men are turned that way.  
It will be happy for us, that it be Carefully looked after; especially the Affairs of our Company Trading to America, and the Colony they have planted in Darian, in Spite, both of foreign and domestic Enemies; our just Title to which, of late, has been proved by unanswerable Arguments; So that it's the Nations Honour for Our Parliament both to assist our Directors with Money, and Authority to retrieve their Losses; and to Frown upon all their Enemies; as being no Friends to this Country.  
I'm persuaded no Tax will be more agreeable to the Subject, nor more readily paid, than for carrying on this Project, that has made the name of our Nation Reign in all Foreign Courts, after it has been in Oblivion for almost this Century; and which has made us Formidable to the Spaniards, whose Grandfather's thought that Scotland was a Province of England.  
The Profit that may arise to Us from our Colony, if it prosper, is evident to every one knows the Riches of the Spanish Plantations; And let us but Suppose, that we are only able to Keep in our Possession, the Port of SAINT ANDREW in CALEDONIA, it may serve to be a Magazine for all our Commodities in the West Indies, and to Manage a private Trade with the Spaniard, to the great Advantage of this Nation.  
But let Us have a more Noble End than Gain alone; The Propagation of the CHRISTIAN RELIGION; and if this were the only Motive, We ought to part with our Money freely for the Glory of GOD.  
To Oppose our Designs we have but one declared Enemy, the King of Spain; who if He endeavour to drive us from our Possession, Honour obliges Us to Defend ourselves.  
If the English or Dutch oppress Us, contrary to the Laws of Nations, I don't see what should hinder Us to take Protection wherever it may be found.  
It may be some People will object, that our Darian Business will occasion a War with Spain; or, that our Directors have mismanaged.  
But in such Objections there's more Humour, than Love for the Country; because by the same Argument we may be Bullied out of any thing the Spaniard, Dutch, or any other Nation has a Liking to; and even be Obliged at last, by another Step of Complaisance, to renounce the Title of a free Kingdom.  
If our Directors have failed either by Ignorance or Negligence in their Designs, that should not keep Us from doing our Duty, nor to contribute all that's in our Power, for Recovering the Losses of our Company; otherways all advantageous Projects may be balked, because there's always Knaves Embarked in them.  
If any Body has the Impudence to amuse us with Fisheries and other useful Projects, it should be looked on as Banter; For when His Majesty has discountenanced us to gratify the English or rather the Dutch, we don't Know what more he will do for his Native country.  
2 lie. Society is a great Support to Trade, for great Interprises can be better carried on by the Credit of many, than by one single Family or Person; and it has been the Practice of our Neighbouring Countries to Establish Companies, Trading to different places of the World; and several Societies at Home to mind their Manufactories, and have protected them with particu-Laws and Immunities.  
It's by Honesty and fair Dealing that all Societies flourish; and well did the Romans Know that, when they punished the Members of Societies for Frauds and supine Negligence, with Infamy. l. 1. ff. de his qui not. infa. § poen. Inst. de poen. tem. litig.  
The Nature of Man is so prone to Wickedness, and so easily led away by Temptation, that if there be not some severe means taken to prevent all ill Practices: there's no Society but may be ruined, being exposed to the catch of every miserable Sharper, and specially here where some Merchants know better how to impose upon people that deal with them, than to preserve that Candour which becomes every honest Trader.  
Therefore it's advisable that it should be made Death and Forfeiture to every one who is found Defrauding the Society of which he is member; and Punishable for all other delinquences Proportionably to their Nature. The one half of the Forfeiture should be added to the stock of the Company, and the other half given to Him who Accuses the said Member; by such Laws ill men will be keeped in their duty and honest men will not easily be Imposed on.  
3 lie. Every well Governed Nation must be in a Posture to Defend herself, and upon good ground to assist her Allies abroad.  
Had we therefore either fear to be attaked by our Enemies; or Allies to assist; we should have all the reason imaginable to keep a standing Army: and I believe no Subject would repine to be Taxed for Its Subsistence Proportionably to his Abilities.  
Why should we be afraid for Enemies abroad, when England which is the better part of this Island thought itself secure immediately after the Peace? and Kept no more Force than to Secure the Peace at Home, and prevent all Disturbances.  
What Allies have We to assist? unless We are so officious as to call those of England and Holland our Allies; like the Highland Countryman who called all his Master, s Cousins his own.  
At the Treaty of Rysewyck, was ever the name of our Nation mentioned any more than as one of his Majesty's Titles? did ever any body endeavour to Recover our old privileges from France? or what have we Reaped, for all that our Country men shown either in Valour or Address, for Obtaining an Honourable Peace?  
We are neglected by all the World, when they don't stand in need of us; Contempt is our only Reward for declaring War against France, when we had not a Ship to defend our little Trai●e; And our Soldiers are sent home Poor and Mutilated, to eat our Bread, till such time the Dutch or English find service for them.  
Is it not time to look to ourselves when every other Nation minds their particular Interest; and either at present, to declare ourselves mercenary Fools, or to act as a wise & Free Nation?  
Let our Parliament remember that Mercy is to be used to the Purse of the Subject; Or, how dangerous standing Armies have proved to France, Denmark Poland, and other Countries; nor do we Know what Influence our Forces might have upon Us at present, were they ill inclined.  
Let our Honourable Members consider the Poverty of our Country, the Decay of Trade, and the great Treasure our Courtiers and Pensioners carry every Year from this to England. So accordingly may they inform their Judgements about the Necessity of a standing Army.  
Alltho' it's absolutely necessary to Disband the most of Our Troops; yet Justice and Interest require, that all the well-deserving Officers should be provided with Pensions, to keep them in this Country, that they may be in a Readiness to Serve when the common Defence requires.  
Wise Men know that in Time of Necessity good Officers are ill to be got; and the Confoederats, in the beginning of the last War, found that all the Advantages the French had over them were occasioned by the Pawness of their Officers. And it's also remarkable that the French, who are absolute Masters of War, set a great Value upon experienced and brave Commanders.  
In Time of Peace, were We to augment our Force, it should be at Sea, because every Country is to be Guarded according to its Situation.  
Lastly, As Advice is the Head, so Money moves the Springs, & strengthens the Nerves of every State; by which it Moves, Acts, and is Knit together.  
No Orator is so persuasive upon the Wills and Affections of men; nor no Conqueror so Successful by Force of Arms, as a good Treasure; and such is the Temper of most men, that they serve Money with Zeal, and obey it without Grudging.  
It is our Interest according to the custom of all wise Governements, both to Provide good Funds, and to Employ the money arising from them to proper Uses.  
There's many ways to raise Money from different Funds: Yet the Ease of the subject is to be had in Consideration, and all Impositions so qualified that they may be laid upon persons proportionably to their Estates; for it's not just that all People should be leveled, where Fortune hath made a vast difference▪ it's therefore that all Excises upon Meat, Drink, clothes, &c▪ are equal for all; every Body being obiged to contribute according to their Luxury.  
If considerable Taxes were laid upon Moneyed Men, they would be forced to apply their Money upon Trade, where they might have the greatest Gain.  
Poll and Hearth-Money should be avoided, being too heavy Taxes for the Poor.  
Great Duties should be laid upon every Foreign Commodity for which the subject has not an absolute necessity, or a way to vent it abroad▪ and and it would be for the advantage of Trade that the Rates of his Majesty's Customs were revised, and that no Exported Goods should pay Custom.  
No Custom, or Taxes should be Fermed, because we know by Experience that they serve to Enrich particular People, who have the Art of Juggling with these who are Deputed to Examine their Accounts▪ and what Favours are given to the said Publicans by his Majesty it would be for the Honour of the Government, that they were given to the Poor, who are never spared by the Insolent Tax men,  
Public Collectors should be appointed for gathering all customs, and each Collector ought to have a good Salary to make him Honest, and he obliged to find Bail for his Intromissions, so that the Nation might be Honestly served.  
To employ the Money arising from funds, to the advantage of this Kingdom, Our Parliament is to take notice; because all Supplies run in Form of free gifts from the Subjects to his Majesty, for their own behoof: Now whither these gifts are applied to the public good, the members of Parliament that gave them are most capable to Judge; and when there's a good understandiug between Prince and People, I believe the Parliament will do its Duty, that neither his Majesty be imposed on, nor the People cheated out of their Money and Liberties by pensions.  
We have the exemple of this present Parliament in England, to state the present defects of our Treasury; to examen the occasions exhausted it: and then to make the People sensible of the necessity of new Supplies.  
A great many good Laws are useful to be made this Session of Parliament to prevent several inconveniencies our Constitution is liable too, and which might secure both the authority of future Parliaments and the liberties of the Subject.  
All Officers, or any body that depends upon Court, aught to be declared incapable to vote in Parliament, because such Persons are supposed to move according to the Inclination of the King, from whom they receive their bread immediately; and that they would do little for the Good of the Subject when it happens that the Interests of Prince and People are not the same.  
This should be one of the Preliminary Votes, and no sooner is this Vote stated but all Pensioners become incapable to Vote for themselves.  
We may Learn by the English Practice, and our own Parliaments, how Convenient it is that all Ovetrures concerning the affairs of the People be Voted and Receive the Royal Assent before any Supplies be granted to his Majesty.  
But what may we not expect from this Parliament, for the meeting of which, we have so Languished? but that all Grievances will be redressed that the interest of the Subject will be minded; and that every Law will be made that can contribute to the Glory and Safety of this Nation.  
Then let Us lay aside all Animosities and confide in each other, Aiming all at the Public Good; Let every Member Act as a man of Honour and Conscience: Let our most Noble High Commissioner behave as above the frouns of Fortoune, as one that's Mortal, whose Fame must be Transmitted to Posterity; never had any a greater Opportunity of becoming Universally Beloved, or Universally Hated; never had any such an Occasion to show his Zeal for his Country, or his Love for his Friends: Nor ever did this Nation stand in need of so Virtuous a Person▪  
Let us all then Concur with good wishes and advice for Posterity to ourselves, and for the Flourishing of this Kingdom.  
FINIS.