JAMES II - SCOTLAND

Document signed ("James R") at head, to William, Duke of Queensberry ("our Treasurer Principall") and John, Earl of Kintore ("our Treasurer Deput of our ancient Kingdome of Scotland"), "Given at our Court at Whitehall", 22 January 1685/6

Footnotes

'OUR RIGHT TRUSTY & RIGHT WELBELOVED COUSIN & COUNCELLOR': KING JAMES REWARDS THE MARQUESS OF ATHOLL FOR HIS LOYALTY AFTER THE ARGYLL REBELLION. In May 1685, Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll, with the support of a group of Scottish protestant exiles, landed at Islay with a force of 300 men, hoping to raise an army of thousands in the hope of overthrowing James II. They planned to occupy Royal forces in Scotland, thus enabling Monmouth to march on London from the West Country in a coordinated attack. However, they underestimated the hoped-for support from the Presbyterian lowlanders, and the disorganised rebels, beset by infighting, were soundly defeated by the King's forces commanded by John Murray, Marquess of Atholl. Argyll was arrested and executed without trial. Atholl was granted a considerable sum for his loyalty and rewarded with the newly-created Order of the Thistle in 1687. Even £2,000 was not enough to buy his loyalty for long – in the years to come he was alternate his allegiance vascilated between both James and William of Orange; 'In being false he was not a coldly calculating politician, but a panic-stricken ditherer' (David Stevenson, ODNB).

The Treasury finances were looking particularly healthy at the time of this payment. Queensberry, as Treasurer, and Kintore, as Treasurer-Depute, were actively involved in enriching the King's coffers by a system of punitive fines and taxes. Queensberry was instructed to raise £40,000 annually with permission to retain any surplus for his own use. 'According to Gilbert Burnet, he 'was for every thing that would bring money into the treasury' (Bishop Burnet's History, 378). Husbands were to be fined when their wives failed to attend church, dissidents were to be prevented from travelling to the colonies until every fine possible had been extracted from them, new powers were to be exercised in reviewing the financial administration of burghs and other bodies, and generally no opportunity was to be missed in recovering the payments due to the crown' (J.D. Ford, ODNB). By the end of 1686 both Queensbury and Kintore had been removed from office pending an audit of the Treasury accounts. See illustration on preceding page.