The People of SCOTLAND's Groans and Lamentable Complaints, Poured out before the High Court of Parliament.  
THE People of Scotland, most Illustrious Patriots, like Children in a great measure deprived of the Kindness and Protection of One of their Parents, have Recourse to you as the Other. When one Parent is dead, or under a moral Incapacity of performing Their part, if the Other prove unnatural or negligent, the Poor Children must unavoidably be Undone. The People of this Kingdom, whom you Represent, have been deprived of the Benign Influences of our Kings these 100 years. Our Neighbours having the Political Fathers of our Country, under their Command, are so far from leaving them at Liberty to Treat Us as Subjects and Children, that they have from time to time made 'em Treat Us like Enemies; but never more than at present, as is obvious to all the World, to Our great Loss and Dishonour.  
We have no other Remedy left Us then, most Noble Representatives, but to prostrate Ourselves at Your Feet, and to throw Ourselves into your Arms, as those of Our Other Parent, humbly imploring, nay Conjuring You by all that is Sacred, and by the Honour of the SCOTTISH Name, that You▪ would not suffer this Ancient and Gallant Nation to be so much Contemned and Injured. We beg of You to consider, how Our Sovereignty and Freedom is Violated, Our Laws trampled upon, and our Trade interrupted; how Our Brethren have been Starved and made Slaves, Our Colony deserted, and Our Ships burnt and lost Abroad; whilst Our Petitions have been rejected, Our Company baffled, Our People Famished, Our Metropolis burnt, and slames of Division kindled amongst Us at Home. We entreat You to consider, how they that ought in Kindness, nay in Gratitude, to have let Us had Provisions for Our Money, whilst they enjoyed Plenty, and aught to have Protected Us with their Ships, since We are under one Sovereign, and have lost so many Men in their Service by Sea and Land, suffered Us to die for Want, and would not let Us have the Use of Our own Friggots, that were built at Our own Charge. We must beg You to take into Your most Serious Thoughts, how Your own Authority hath been trod under Foot, Your Acts Violated, Your Address slighted, and the Company of Your Establishment Opposed and Oppressed. We pray You to Remember, how Promises made You to advance Our Trade, have been broke; how those to Our Company have been falsified; and how English Ministers have had Private Orders to act contrary to those Promises. We beseech You to Remember, how a Petition for delivering from Slavery, Gentlemen Related to so many of Your Families, etc. was slighted and opposed; How Our Liberty of a National Petition for Calling You together, Most Illustrious Representatives, to Redress Our National Grievances, was invaded and traduced: How Your Meeting has been unreasonably adjourned from time to time, though the Bleeding Honour and Interest of Our Nation called aloud for a present Remedy.  
We beg of You with Tears, as You tender the Honour and Welfare of this Ancient Kingdom, to undeceive His Majesty, who by His Answer to Our Commissioners seems to have been informed, that Your Sentiments, and those of the Nation expressed in Our Petition, would not be the same.  
We hope you will consider the Dishonour put upon yourselves, by the effectual Answers given to the Addrresses of a Neighbouring Parliament, whilst yours is unregarded; and that you will assert the Liberties of this Injured Nation, against the Insolence and Oppressions of Ungrateful Neighbours: Consider the Noble Achievements of our Ancestors, in defience of our Freedom and Honour. May it never be said, we are so much degenerated, as meanly to part with those Jewels which they purchased for us with the Price of their Blood. And much less, that those who falsely reproached us with selling our King, should have just grounds to tell us, that any of our Representatives sold our Country. Let not this Nation, that they could never Conquer by their Swords, be ingloriously subdued by their Money.  
We must leave it with You, most Noble Patriots, to take Care, that no such Judas' bring a perpetual Infamy upon the Parliaments of Scotland. May the very Aspect of your August Assembly prove their Bane; may it force them to confess their Treasonable Crime, in betraying our Blood and Honour; may they afterwards go to their deserved Place; and may their Posts be filled with Honester-Men.  
We must in the last place humbly beseech You, to prevent our being further impoverished and enslaved, by a standing Army in time of Peace. We have the same Love for our Country that our Ancestors had, and are as willing to defend it as they, without mercenary Troops. Let us all be Armed and Disciplined as they were, and then we shall soon make good our Motto of Nemo me impune Lacesset: Our forefathers did wonders without standing Arms, and that we have not lost our Native Courage, is evident from what our undisciplined Men did, both here and in Ireland, since the Revolution.  
Let not a Nation then, who formerly spread the Glory of their Arms al● over Europe, be dispirited under the Bondage of a Foreign Court. Let not that Blood, that formerly used to gather Laurels in the field of Battle, and raised the Honour of our Country, be so prodigally spilt in Quarrels of other Nations that make us such Ingrateful Returns. May Heaven inspire Your August Assembly with proper Methods to deliver us from being Oppressed at home and Despised abroad. May you be Blessed to improve the present Opportunity of so doing, which if lost the like is not to be again expected; And as you have had the Honour to begin and advance our Deliverance, may you have the Glory to Complete it, and to render your Memory Sacred to all succeeding Ages.