TrueCovenanter.com Editor's Note Please note: The following historical document is provided to satisfy the interest of readers by making available the actual text of a Declaration often mentioned in the writings of the Covenanters. The reader will find this blasphemous Declaration faithfully testified against, and the acceptance thereof proven sinful, in such works as Alexander Shields' Hind Let Loose, the United Societies' Informatory Vindication, and the Sermons of Messrs. Richard Cameron and Donald Cargill.

A proclamation suspending laws against conventicles, June 29th, 1679.

Charles II. by the grace of God, king of Scotland, England, France, and Ireland, defender of the faith, &c. To all and sundry our good subjects, whom these presents do or may concern, greeting: we having, with the advice, and consent of our parliaments, passed so many acts in favours of the protestant religion, against field conventicles, whereby our subjects were withdrawn from public ordinances, in such ways as exposed them to hear jesuits, or any other irregular preachers, and were at last debauched to meet with arms in formed rebellions, we might have expected a most hearty concurrence from all such as resolved to live religiously and peaceably in suppressing those disorders: in place whereof, magistrates having by their negligence, and masters by their connivance, heightened those distempers into a formed rebellion, founded upon extravagancies, inconsistent with the protestant religion and our monarchy; which we having by the mercy of God, and the affection of our subjects, overcome so totally, that our clemency cannot be liable to any misconstruction: we have therefore thought fit, with the advice of our privy council, to recommend the vigorous execution of all our former laws and proclamations against such rendezvouses of rebellion; commanding hereby our judges, magistrates, and officers of all ranks and degrees, to apprehend, condemn, and punish all such as frequent any field conventicles, the ministers by death, and the hearers by fining and otherwise, according to the prescript of our laws; such as bear arms there being to be demeaned as traitors, conform to our former proclamation, dated the 13th day of May last, and ordaining that all masters shall be liable for presenting such of their tenants, and such as live upon their ground to underly the law in our justice-airs, conform to the 6th act, parl. 3. James V. As also we {III:149:B} most peremptorily command all in office under us, to prosecute with all legal rigour, those inhumane and execrable murderers of the late archbishop of St. Andrews, and all such as have had accession thereto, by concealing or resetting the assassinates. But we, being desirous to reclaim all such in that our ancient kingdom, as have been misled by ignorance, or blind zeal (the pretext of disorders) and to convince all indifferent persons, that too great severity is as far from our design, as our inclinations, have, according to the power reserved to us by the fifth act, and second session of our second parliament, suspended the execution of all laws and acts, against such as frequent house conventicles in the low countries, on the south side of the river of Tay only, excepting always the town of Edinburgh, and two miles round about the same, with the lordships of Musselburgh, and Dalkeith, the cities of St. Andrews, and Glasgow, and Stirling, and a mile about each of them; being fully resolved, not to suffer the seat of our government, nor our universities to be pestered with any irregularities whatsoever. And for a further evidence of our protection to all who resolve to live peaceably, we hereby suspend all diligences for fines upon the account of conventicles, except such fines as are imposed by our privy council, and such fines of inferior judicatures, as were uplifted or transacted for, prior to the twenty-ninth of May last, and all letters of intercommuning, and other executions, except in so far as concerns those who were our actual servants, or in public trust. But to the end, that none whom we may justly suspect, shall, under the colour of this favour, continue to preach rebellion, schism and heresy, we hereby ordain all such as shall be suffered to preach, to have their names given in, and surety found to our privy council for their peaceable behaviour, only one preacher being allowed to a parish; and none to be allowed who have appeared against us in this late rebellion, nor none who shall be admitted by the unconform ministers in any time hereafter: assuring all those to whom we have extended this favour, that if they, or any of them, shall for the future frequent any field conventicles, or disturb the peace of these our kingdoms, we will secure our people, and maintain our authority and laws by such effectual courses as, in ruining the authors, cannot be thought rigid, after so insufferable and unnecessary provocations. This our forbearance being to continue in force only during our royal pleasure, as we shall see those dissenters deserve our favour. And to the end all our good subjects may have notice of this our royal will and pleasure, we do hereby command our lyon king at arms and his brethren, heralds, macers, pursuivants, messengers at arms, to make proclamation hereof, at the market cross of Edinburgh. Given at our court at Whitehall, the twenty-ninth day of June, 1679, and of our reign the thirty-first year.

By his majesty's command,

LAUDERDALE.

GOD SAVE THE KING.

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CHARLES R.—"Right trusty, &c. We {III:152:A} greet you well. Having resolved to make the favours designed by our late proclamation effectual, we hereby declare, that we designed therein, that such as are allowed to preach thereby, are also allowed by the same proclamation to administrate the sacraments, the one including the other. As also, that no fine imposed for any schismatical disorders, (except treason) before inferior judicatories, and not yet transacted or compounded for, shall be uplifted, unless the parties so fined shall fall back into their old transgressions, by rebellion or field conventicles; the suspension mentioned in our proclamation being a sufficient discharge only in those cases. Ministers also now imprisoned, who were not in this rebellion, are to be set at liberty, without any other engagement, but that they shall live peaceably, and not take up arms against us or our authority, or find caution to answer when called by us or you: and so we bid you heartily farewell. Given at our court at Windsor Castle, the 11th of July, 1679, and of our reign the 31st year.

By his majesty's command,

LAUDERDALE.