Act of Union Timeline

["Sinclair" <labehotiere@wanadoo.fr>]

The  Quarterman  Timeline states "1707, 16 Jan Union of Parliaments Scottish
Parliament voted union with the English Parliament. Alexander 9th Earl of
Caithness was against it and was the last surviving peer of the Scottish
Parliament. No Scottish Parliament would meet again until 1999

Clan Sinclair Trust states: in "1708 Scotland's Parliament (was) suspended
The Earl of Caithness against it and was the last surviving peer of the
Scottish Parliament. Sir Robert Sinclair of Longformacus, John Sinclair of
Stemster and John Sinclair (younger) of Stevenson also voted against"

Clan Sinclair USA states that in May 1707 "Union of Parliaments-Scotland's
Parliament suspended. The Earl of Caithness against it and was the last
surviving peer of the Scottish Parliament"

The Quarterman date is only correct date quoted on any of the Timelines. The
Act of Union was ratified by the Scot Parliament on the 16 January 1707 AD
by 110 votes to 67.  The Scottish Estates met for the last time on 25 March
1707. The Union began in May 1707. The Scot's Parliament was not suspended,
it was abolished.

Only two Sinclair Barons are listed as having voted, both against.  They are
the only Sinclair on the official voting records. The Earl of Caithness is
not listed however Lord Elphinstoune, and Lord Rollo were distantly related
to the Sinclairs

 John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll and James Douglas, 2nd Duke of
Queensberry represented the government and manipulated parliamentary debates
into an environment of Member's personal interests.

In investigating who voted for or against the Union Dr Julian Goodare the
Department of Scottish History University of Edinburgh EH8 9LN kindly
directed me to the appendix of P.W.J. Riley, 'The Union of England and
Scotland' (Manchester, 1978).  This appendix contained a complete list of
all who voted in the last Parliament. On 28 April 1707 AD the Scottish
Parliament was dissolved. The next Scots Parliament was 1999 AD that makes
it fairly impossible for the vote to have taken place in 1708. The Earl of
Caithness did not vote at all he did not sit in the last Parliament. He was
the last surviving peer who had sat in a Scots Parliament. The Scots
Parliament was Estates in form.  There were three classes. Only Robert
Sinclair of Longformacus and John Sinclair (younger) of Stevenson are listed
as having taken part and voted against.

The Act of Settlement fixed that if Queen Anne should die childless, her
only son had died in 1701, the crown would pass to Sophia of Hanover, a
cousin of Charles I. The Scots declined to agree.  A series of acts that
were antagonistic to England were passed in Scotland. The most important of
these was the Act of Security in which the Scottish Parliament would have
the power to nominate a successor to Anne within 20 days of her death and
that the successor did not necessarily have to be from the House of Hanover.
This raised the possibility of a separate Scottish monarchy. Scottish
soldiers were important in the army. The English were embroiled in the War
of Spanish Succession. Anne did not directly sign the Act of Security and
the Scottish Parliament suspended the supply of Scottish soldiers until
Royal Assent was obtained.
The English passed the Alien Act of 1705. In this Act the Scots were given
until Christmas Day to accept the Hanoverian succession or they were to
appoint commissioners to negotiate a union. If neither action was taken
Scots would be treated as aliens in England, threatening property held by
Scots there, and trade with England and her colonies would be destroyed..
The dialogue began in April 1706 By the terms of the Act Scotland and
England were to become one country. Anne became Queen of Great Britain and
the throne passed to the House of Hanover on her death. There was also
economic union with free trade on both sides of the border. Scotland was
given only 45 seats in the House of Commons and 16 seats in the House of
Lords. England paid Scotland £398,085-10s English pounds as compensation for
Scotland now taking on part of England's national debt. Scotland kept its
legal system and Kirk.

LORDS:  for Union 1706-1707
Earl of Seafield, Marquis of Montrose, Duke of Argyle, Marquis of Tweeddale,
Marquis of Lothian, Earl of Mar, Earl of Loudon, Earl of Crawford, Earl of
Sutherland, Earl of Rothes, Earl of Mortoun, Earl of Eglinton, Earl of
Roxburgh, Earl of Haddington, Earl of Galloway, Earl of Wemyss, Earl of
Dalhousie, Earl of Leven, Earl of Northesk, Earl of Balcarras, Earl of
Forfar, Earl of Kilmarnock, Earl of Kintore, Earl of Dunmore, Earl of
Marchmont, Earl of Hynford, Earl of Cromarty, Earl of Stair, Earl of
Roseberry, Earl of Glasgow, Earl of Hopetoun, Earl of Delorain, Earl of Hay,
Viscount Duplin, Viscount Garnock, Lord Forbes, Lord Elphinstoune, Lord
Ross, Lord Torphichen, Lord Fraser, Lord Banff, Lord Elibank, Lord Duffus,
Lord Rollo.

LORDS: Against Union
Duke of Hamilton, Duke of Athol, Marquis of Annandale, Earl of Errol, Earl
of Marischal, Earl of Buchan, Earl of Glencairn, Earl of Wigton, Earl of
Strathmore, Earl of Selkirk, Earl of Kincardine, Viscount Stermont, Viscount
Kilsyth, Lord Semple, Lord Oliphant, Lord Balmarino, Lord Blantyre, Lord
Barganey, Lord Belhaven, Lord Colvin, Lord Kinnaird.

BARONS:  for Union
Sir Robert Dickson of Inveresk, William Nisbet of Dirlton, John Cockburn jnr
of Ormiston, Sir John Swinton of that ilk, Sir Alexander Campbell of
Cessnock, Sir William Ker of Green Head, Archibald Douglas of Cavers,
William Bennet of Grubbet, John Murray of Bowhill, John Pringle of Haining,
William Morrison of Preston Grange, George Baillie of Jervis Wood, Sir John
Johnston of Wester Hall, William Douglas of Dornock, William Stewart of
Castle Stewart, John Stewart of Sorbie, Francis Montgomery of Giffan, John
Montgomery of Wree, Sir Robert Pollock of that ilk, William Dalrymple of
Glen Muir, John Hadden of Glen Agies, Mungo Graham of Gorthy, Sir Thomas
Burnet of Leyes, William Seton jnr of Pitmeddon, Alexander Grant jnr of that
ilk, Sir Kenneth MacKenzie, Angus MacLeod of Cathol, John Campbell of
Mammore, Sir James Cambell of Auchinbreck, James Campbell jnr of Arkinglas,
Sir William Anstruther of that ilk, James Halyburton of Pitcur, Alexander
Abercrombie of Glasgow, William Maxwell of Cardross, James Dunbar jnr of
Hemprigs, John Bruce of Kinross, Robert Stewart of Tillycoultry.

BARONS: Against Union including two Sinclairs
George Lockhart of Carnwath, John Brisbane of Bishopton, Sir James Foulis of
Collington, William Cochrane of Kilmarnock, Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun, Sir
Humphrey Colquhoun of Luss, Sir Robert Sinclair of Longformacus, Sir John
Houston of that ilk, Sir Patrick Home of Renton, John Grahame of Killaney,
Sir Gilbert Elliot of Minto, James Graham of Buchlyvie, William Baillie of
Lamington, Thomas Sharp of Houston, John Sinclair the younger of Stevenson,
Sir Patrick Murray of Auchtertyre, John Sharp of Hoddam, John Murray of
Strowan, Alexander Ferguson of Isle, Sir David Ramsey of Balmain, Alexander
Gordon of Pitlurg, James More of Stoniewood, John Forbes of Culloden, David
Bethune of Balfour, Thomas Hope of Rankieller, Patrick Lyon of Auchterhouse,
James Carnagie of Phinhaven, David Graham, Younger of Fintry, James Ogilvie
of Boyne, Sir Henry Innes jnr of that ilk, Alexander Mackgie of Dalgown,
George MacKenzie of Inchcoulter, Alexander Douglas of Eagleshaw.

BURGESSES: for Union
Sir Patrick Johnstoun, John Serymhowe, Coll. Areskin, John Muir, James
Scott, Patrick Bruce, Sir James Smollet, William Carmichael, Daniel MacLeod,
John Ross, Sir David Dalrymple, Patrick Ogilvie, William Alvis, John
Urquhart, James Spittle, Daniel Campbell, Robert Douglas, George Dalrymple,
Sir John Areskin, Patrick Moncrieffe, George Munro, Sir Andrew Home, William
Coltran, Sir Peter Halket, Sir Alexander Ogilvie, John Clerk, Sir Hugh
Dalrymple, George Allardyce, Roderick MacKenzie, Sir James Stewart, Sir
Robert Forbes, Alexander Maitland, Charles Campbell.

BURGESSES: Against Union
Robert Inglis, Alexander Duff, John Lyon, Alexander Robertson, Francis
Mollison, George Spence, John Black, Walter Scott, Sir David Cunningham,
Walter Stweart, Robert Kellie, William Johnston, Alexander Watson, John
Hutchinson, John Carruthers, Hugh Montgomery, Walter Sutherland, George
Home, Alexander Edgar, Douglas Stewart, Robert Frazer, James Oswald,
Archibald Shiels, John Bayne, Robert Johnston, George Brodie, James Bethun.


PARCEL O' ROGUES by Robert Burns.

Fareweel to a' our Scottish fame,
Fareweel to ancient glory,
Fareweel evan tae the Scottish name
Sae famed in martial story !
Now Sark rins o'er the Solway sands
And Tweed rins tae the ocean,
To mark where England's province stands
Such a parcel of rogues in a nation.

What force or guile could not subdue,
Thro' mony warlike ages,
Is wrought now by a coward few
For hireling traitor wages;
The English steel we could distain
Secure in valours station,
But English gold has been our bane,
Such a parcel of rogues in a nation.
Oh, would ere I had seen the day
That treason thus could sell us,
My auld gray head had lien in clay
Wi' Bruce and loyal Wallace,
But pith and power to my last hour
I'll mak' this declaration -
We're bought and sold for English gold,
Such a parcel of rogues in a nation.


Sinclair


----- Original Message -----
From: "John S. Quarterman" <jsq@quarterman.com>
To: <sinclair@quarterman.org>
Sent: Sunday, June 09, 2002 9:04 AM
Subject: Sinclair Dates


>
>    [1]Tomorrow:
>    June 11
>
>    1488: James III murdered, at Sauchieburn.

[ Excess quotations omitted. ]

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