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I was chatting with a friend over the holidays and he mentioned that what he liked about my sites was that all the pdf files were searchable and editable whereas most other sites have them in protected mode.
I confess that I make a point of only placing up versions that I can take bits from to create what I feel would make good articles. There are perhaps under a dozen pdf's that are password protected but all others are open for you to edit.
So just thought I'd mention this in case you weren't aware of this benefit
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I was also thinking about some of the content I have on the site from people that are no longer with us. For example, there was John Henderson, a Scottish English Teacher, who retired to Cyprus and contributed so much content to the site that I gave him his own menu item as "John's Page" and also "Songs". Also, Donna Flood, where likewise she has her own "Donna's Page" where she has a Scots ancestor but was a Matriarch of the Ponca Indian tribe in Oklahoma. Also, Margo Fallis, who wrote tons of "Children's Stories" for us who was also a transplanted Scot.
I should also mention Frank Shaw who I haven't heard from in ages who provided us with the series "Robert Burns Lives!" which you can get to under our "Robert Burns" menu.
And also Beth Gay and her husband Tom who between them sent us loads of content with firstly "Family Tree" which was at the time the leading Scots-American newspaper and then in pdf format "Beth's Family Tree" which was born out of the demise of the Family Tree newspaper but of course with the same editor, Beth Gay. Last time I talked to them both they were well and making progress but Beth has lost her ability to work the computer. We do live in hope she might recover and might contribute the odd article to us.
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I just noticed that I made an error while updating the header of the ElectricScotland site which removed all the links from individual pages so they were only available from the index page. Have now corrected this and the site is updating as I complete this newsletter. Sorry about that!
Scottish News from this weeks newspapers
I am partly doing this to build an archive of modern news from and about Scotland and world news stories that can affect Scotland and as all the newsletters are archived and also indexed on search engines it becomes a good resource. I might also add that in a number of newspapers you will find many comments which can be just as interesting as the news story itself and of course you can also add your own comments if you wish which I do myself from time to time.
Here is what caught my eye this week...
The 11-figure sum the UK could have had to fork out in 2025 had Brexit not happened
Thanks to Brexit, the UK taxpayer will not be subsidising the rest of the EU for another year, a thinktank says.
Read more at:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/19...n-union-budget
Canada's Next Prime Minister | Pierre Poilievre
Jordan Peterson sits down with Canadian member of Parliament Pierre Poilievre (and likely the next Prime Minister). They discuss his role as Leader of the Opposition, the untapped energy sector, the real reason Canadians cannot afford homes, how Justin Trudeau has walked the country off a cliff, and what will likely play out in 2025 leading up to the much-needed election.
Watch this at:
https://youtu.be/Dck8eZCpglc?si=b7tfSFZvyo8w9i-u
The Best Part Of The Peterson & Poilievre Interview That No One Noticed
There was still 30 minutes of the interview left between Pierre Poilievre and Jordan Peterson that you missed. Footage Courtesy Of The Daily Wire
Watch this at:
https://youtu.be/l7tQkWHulE4?si=QCqfSxLYTXc2ST5c
From Venezuela to Ottawa: Anaida Poilievre's Journey
In this episode, Tony Greco sits down with Anaida Poilievre, co-founder of the lifestyle platform Pretty & Smart Co. and wife of Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre. Anaida shares her incredible journey from Venezuela to Canada, her experience working in Canadian politics, and how she balances her roles as a mother, entrepreneur, and political partner.
Watch this at:
https://youtu.be/C0H_gujHaz4?si=TSryK7GQreKiS4vr
Are Canada's Conservatives the future of the Right?
Soon, the leader of the Canadian Conservative Party, Pierre Poilievre, will dominate the political conversation. While the Tories are struggling over here, Poilievre's party is on track for a 20-25 point election victory. But can British Conservatives learn from his success?
Read more at:
https://guymiscampbell.substack.com/...sh-gatekeepers
How to solve a problem like Reform
Reform's ascendancy has blindsided the Tories. No longer is the upstart party defined almost exclusively by Nigel Farage: other figures are gaining considerable popularity too. A strategy for competing with Reform is possible, but Kemi Badenoch will need to change her reactive approach to a proactive one.
Read more at:
https://capx.co/how-do-the-tories-so...em-like-reform
As an agent of change, Reform UK has no peers
CHANGE, the title of its manifesto, was the stand-out slogan of Labour’s campaign earlier this year against a lost fourteen years of Conservative rule. But when didn’t a political party or candidat promise change? Voters’ thirst for political change seems to have accelerated in the last year as, in democratic elections across the world, incumbency has ceased to confer an automatic advantage.
Read more at:
https://thinkscotland.org/2025/01/as...-has-no-peers/
Trump Appointee Reveals What’s Wrong with the US Army
This is an in-depth and wide-ranging discussion with former Assistant Secretary of the Army Casey Wardynski. Everything is covered from the highest-ranking generals who worked against President Trump in his first term, to the failures of the military response to the storm disaster in Western North Carolina, to what the DOD’s participation in January 6 might have been.
Watch this at:
https://youtu.be/TfSWBvGtQJ8?si=ZOlw7ynS_1trf4N9
Justin Trudeau RESIGNS
Justin Trudeau has announced his resignation as leader of Canada's Liberal Party, and it looks like the country's bad dream is coming to an end. Trudeau will be remembered for presiding over a litany of national and international controversies. For Canadian liberals and conservatives alike, his departure is a welcome one.
Read more at:
https://archive.is/WXAB2
China Update
China Update is about China economic and political news and analysis
Watch this at:
https://youtu.be/Q3PdLeW73WQ?si=eziK2FgGLcRqD2zl
Europe's biggest battery farm built on coal mine
Work is under way to create what has been described as Europe's largest battery storage project at Coalburn in South Lanarkshire
Read more at:
https://news.stv.tv/scotland/two-of-...shire-and-fife
How the once dismal John O' Groats is bouncing back
Fifteen years ago John O' Groats was given an award for being the "most dismal" place in Scotland. Since then, the village on Scotland's north eastern tip has been transformed by a series of regeneration projects.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0mvemn7rn7o
Nation’s favourite pie a symbol of our generosity
Like in many households across Scotland on January 1, a steak pie will sit at the centre of Gordon Newlands’s family table. He wouldn’t have it any other way.
Read more at:
https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/new-year-steak-pie/
This Winter, Revel in the Deliciously Bad Puns of Scotland's Salt Truck Names
An online tracker lets folks anywhere around the world follow the exploits of "Thistle Do Icely" and "Taylor Drift."
Read more at:
https://www.roadandtrack.com/offbeat...ow-plow-names/
Italian Prime Minister H.E. Giorgia Meloni, introduced by Elon Musk
H.E. Giorgia Meloni, President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic, accepts the 2024 Atlantic Council Global Citizen Award. She is introduced by Elon Musk, Chief Engineer of SpaceX and Chief Executive Officer of Tesla.
Watch this at:
https://youtu.be/NKiWSLGibJc?si=XVts_gMcCfnnfOZl
Zero tolerance is the answer to child sexual exploitation
Some issues in public life should be very easy: safeguarding children as an absolute priority is one of them. Avoiding heaping shame on the innocent is another. The longstanding principles of justice in our country ought to make both ideas apparent.
Read more at:
https://capx.co/zero-tolerance-is-th...l-exploitation
Bad data and blind eyes fuelled grooming gangs
Those calling for a national inquiry into child grooming gangs and the authorities’ response are right to do so. There is much to be accounted for even the statistics failed victims. In particular, the Crown Prosecution Service only gathers data on child sexual abuse. It has no data on child sexual exploitation.
Read more at:
https://capx.co/bad-data-and-blind-e...grooming-gangs
Grooming gang convicted of raping women in Dundee
A Romanian grooming gang has been convicted of raping and sexually abusing 10 women in flats across Dundee.
Read more at:
https://news.stv.tv/north/grooming-g...rape-in-dundee
Does Britain want to join Trump’s new world order?
Goodbye EU, hello AU? It’s been evident for a few months now that Donald Trump’s second administration will be more geostrategically ambitious than his first. Yesterday, in another extraordinary press conference in Mar-a-Lago, we got a glimpse of what Trump and his advisers are thinking for the planet in 2025 and beyond.
Read more at:
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/...w-world-order/
Dundee University 'cannot be allowed to fail' in face of £30m deficit, MSP warns
Staff were told last year job cuts were ‘inevitable’ amid £30m budget deficit.
Read more at:
https://news.stv.tv/north/dundee-uni...icit-msp-warns
Electric Canadian
The World's Work
(1900–1932) was a monthly magazine that covered national affairs from a pro-business point of view. I have found the first 10 volumes of this work and have added volumes 1 & 2 to the page. I am sorry to say that volume 1 is a very poor scan and is almost unreadable.
You can get to these at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/maga...worldswork.htm
Emigrant's Pocket Companion
Containing what emigration is, who should be emigrants, where emigrants should go; a description of British North America, especially the Canadas; and full instructions to intending emigrants by Robert Mudie (1832) (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...00mudiuoft.pdf
Emigration to the Canadas (pdf)
On the last feast of St. Andrew's, a Scotch settler of great talent, in proposing Upper Canada as a toast, thus as truly as eloquently spoke, fully bearing out the principles just now advanced:-
"Canada is young; it has much to be proud of, notwithstanding its youth; it is the birth-place of John Beverly Robinson, James Buchannan Macauley, and Archibald McLean, men whose high character, integrity, and acquirements, would throw a lustre on the character of any country. The intrepid conduct of the immortal Brock, and the brave men who gloriously fell with him on the heights of Queenston, defending the country against the southern invaders, will bear everlasting testimony to its early prowess. Windsor and Prescott will record its increasing vigour, and truly manly British character. The western frontiers of the province will be pointed out to generations unborn as hallowed ground—the scenes of its trials and sufferings—of its patience and forbearance; as the seat where folly and crime, but not its own, spread sorrow, desolation, and death; where the basest and most abandoned of our race—those corrupted and inhuman wretches that hover around the haunts of infamy and dissipation, in the neighbouring country—have imperiously, in the name of sacred liberty, trodden under foot every feeling and law, human and divine, and put themselves, as it were, in array against God and man; and put human nature to open shame, by the enormity of their crimes. There, in the solemn 'noon of night,' the heavens have been illuminated with the flames that devoured the dwellings and hard-earned substance of the inoffending Canadians, while the execrable incendiary revelled amid the exulting shouts of the demoniac orgies on the opposite shore. Let every man in the room understand me, that I do not allude to these events as relating to party, but as grave portions of Canadian history—as a warning voice from heaven, addressed to the land at large, proclaiming aloud that it is full time for the troubled waters of strife and discord to subside; for the Ark of good sense to find some Ararat to rest upon, that the Canadian dove might be sent forth with the olive-branch of peace and reconciliation. No peace or reconciliation can be permanent that is not founded upon an invincible determination to form the character of the country after, and continue its eternal connexion with the illustrious Empire whose soil is holy—upon which the African and Indian stands free and regenerated — upon the boundless dominions of which, the sun never sets."
Just a comment about Canada becoming the 51st State... I think not... <grin>
You can read this article at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/hist...he-Canadas.pdf
The Railway Clauses Consolidation Acts of Canada
14 & 15 Victoria, Chapter 51, And 16 Victoria, Chapter 169, with an alphabetical and analytical index by Alexander Morris. M. A., Barrister-at-Law, Montreal (1853) (pdf)
You can read this at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/tran...esco00morr.pdf
Thoughts on a Sunday Morning - the 5th of January 2024 - Resolutions
By the Rev. Nola Crewe
You can watch this at:
http://www.electricscotland.org/foru...24-resolutions
Alicia Walsh
I enjoy experimenting with alternative ways of living and thinking. I want to inspire you to challenge yourself, to dream bigger, and pursue your passions. To live your life in a way that fulfills and enriches your spirit. Being outside provides benefits beyond measure for our health and well being. I feel that the modern world has led us to great disconnections with our families, with ourselves, and the earth. I hope to change this cycle through sharing stories of my outdoor explorations and adventures. My most recent endeavour includes bringing you along for the wild journey of building an off-grid homestead in the Boreal Forest bordering Central and Western Newfoundland. I am a Mom and a creative. I am also a 200Hr Certified Yoga Teacher, and Veterinary Technician.
You can watch this video at:
https://www.youtube.com/@OutdoorLifeOnTheRock
The Beaver Magazine
Added Volume 3 No. 11 (pdf)
You can read this issue at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/tran...August1923.pdf
Electric Scotland
Scotland must closely scrutinise data cantre overseas overtures
Scotland is endowed with a centuries-old enthusiasm towards practically anything hinting at innovation. An article by Bill Magee.
You can read this article at:
https://electricscotland.com/magee/article0023.pdf
Tommy Robertson
As he is in the news a lot these days I thought I'd compile a page about him mostly from videos available on YouTube. The videos of course include information on the Grooming Gangs.
You can read and watch this content at:
https://electricscotland.com/lifesty...yrobertson.htm
Calendar of the Laing Charters
A.D. 854-1837 belonging to the University of Edinburgh, edited by The Rev. John Anderson, Assistant Curator of the Historical Department, H. M. General Register House, Edinburgh (1899) (pdf)
You can read this book at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...ingc00edin.pdf
The Bains of psychology
Two Scots, both called Alexander Bain, played instrumental roles in the formative years of psychology, touching on perception, and they have often been confused. (pdf)
You can read this article at:
https://electricscotland.com/history/articles/bains.pdf
Debrett's House of Commons, and the Judicial Bench. (twentieth annual edition)
Illustrated with 800 Armorial engravings compiled and Edited by Robert Henry Mair, LL.D, (1886) (pdf)
You can read this volume at:
https://electricscotland.com/books/p...86londuoft.pdf
Pioneering in Formosa
Recollections of adventures among the Mandarins, Wreckers, Head-Hunting Savages by W. A. Pickering, C.M.G., with an appendix on British policy and interests in China and the Far East (1898) (pdf)
You can read this book at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...rmosa_text.pdf
Mudie, Robert
Miscellaneous writer. Added a page about him at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...die_robert.htm
and links to a selection of his books such as...
The Picture of Australia
Exhibiting New Holland, Van Diemen's Land, and all the settlements, from the first at Sydney to the last at the Swan River by Robert Mudie (1829) (pdf)
Which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...tral00mudi.pdf
and also...
The Emigrant's Pocket Companion
In British North America by Robert Mudie (pdf)
https://electricscotland.com/history...00mudiuoft.pdf
Historical Account of His Majesty's Visit to Scotland
George IVth by Robert Mudie
https://electricscotland.com/history...coun00mudi.pdf
The Picture of India
Geographical, Historical and Descriptive by Robert Mudie (third edition) (1830) (pdf)
https://electricscotland.com/history...ureofindia.pdf
China and its Resources
And peculiarities, physical, political, social and commercial with a view of the opium question and a notice of Assam by Robert Mudie (1840) (pdf)
https://electricscotland.com/history...-Resources.pdf
The Modern Athens
A Dissection and Demonstration of Men and Things in the Scotch Capital by A modern Greek, Robert Mudie (1825) (pdf)
https://electricscotland.com/history...dernathens.pdf
and many others.
Biographical Notices of Thomas Young, S.T.D.
Vicar of Stowmarket, Suffolk by David Laing,, the editor of Principle Baillie's "Letters and Journals" (1870) (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...00lainuoft.pdf
The Historical Manuscripts Commission (HMC)
By Norman James (pdf)
You can read this article about them at:
https://electricscotland.com/history/articles/hmc.pdf
The First Jenny Wormald Lecture
(Edinburgh, 27 October 2023) by Jane E. A. Dawson (pdf)
You can read this lecture at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...y-scotland.pdf
The priest, the crofters, and the Uist rocket range
By Neil Bruce, The Innes Review 75.2 (2024): 155–186 (pdf)
You can read this article at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...cket-range.pdf
Come Under My Plaidie
Scotch song by Hector M'Neil with new pianoforte accompaniment (pdf)
You can read this song along with the musical score at:
https://electricscotland.com/poetry/Plaidie.pdf
Poems and Songs of James Kennedy Sanquhar
The second edition revised and corrected, with numerous additions (1824) (pdf)
You can read this book at:
https://electricscotland.com/poetry/...ongs00kenn.pdf
Poem of the Royal Company of Scottish Archers (1713)
You can read this poem at:
https://electricscotland.com/poetry/...homas_1713.pdf
Scottish Society of Louisville
Got in their January 2025 newsletter which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/familyt...ille/index.htm
Miscellany of The Scottish History Society
Added the Seventh Volume which contains The Diary of Sir William Drummond of Hawthornden, The Exiled Stewarts in Italy, The Locharkaig Treasure.
You can get to this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history/shs/index.htm
John Watson Shipbuilder
Whitehills & Banff 1830 to 1879 By Stanley Bruce (pdf)
You can read this book at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...JAN2025-V1.pdf
His other books on the Shipbuilding in Aberdeen can get found at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...ipbuilding.htm
Story
Three stories for you this week...
IN MEMORIAM
ALEXANDER M'LEAN OF MACOMB.
Hon. Alexander M‘Lean of Macomb, Illinois, U.S.A, was one of the best known and most highly respected citizens of the great State of Illinois. His native tongue was the Gaelic, of which fact he was very proud; and the Scottish Highlanders of Chicago, of which Society he was an honoured member, will greatly regret his death, which occurred early in October. He was a constant reader of the Celtic Monthly, and once said to me, “I shall take that Magazine as long as I live! C. C. M‘C.J
There’s a sound that has a meaning in the ancient name MacLean—
There’s a sound of roaring billows and a rush of driving rain,
And from out the sea there rises, westward from the Campbell’s shore,
Far away, a storm-swept island which our friend shall see no more!
But the island, in its struggles with the anger of the sea,
Speaks, in all its rocky grandeur, of a soul that’s ever free—
Speaks of honesty and fearlessness of heart and hand and brain,
Of the brave, undaunted manhood sounding in the name MacLean.
Like the whistle of the claymore in the hand of ancient Gael;
Like the clang of steel on target ’midst the battle’s bloody hail;
Like the sudden blast of trumpet, or the pibroch’s piercing strain,
You can hear the note of honour ringing in the name MacLean.
Yet the men of old Clan Gillean are not always plunged in strife,
For to deeds of peaceful honour they have also given life;
And a note of hearty friendship, with a kindliness in train,
Gives your heart a warmer feeling when you meet with a MacLean.
So, old Mull, their rugged island, when the wind sleeps on the sea,
In the Summer sun is shining in a peaceful reverie;
And its cliff’s seem strangely tender when the seabirds rest again,
And the heather-bells wave gently o’er the tomb of the MacLean!
END.
EDWARD WILLIAM WATT (1877-1955)
Edward William Watt was born in 1877, the eldest son of William Watt and Marjorie Robertson. He attended the Aberdeen Grammar School from 1883-94 and graduated MA from Aberdeen University in 1898. After spending six months in Brunswick, Germany, he joined the staff of the Aberdeen Free Press and from 1902-04 was a member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery, before returning to become chief sub-editor of the Free Press. In 1906, on the death of his father, he became editor of the Evening Gazette.
He enlisted during the First World War and rose to the rank of Lt Colonel in the Gordon Highlanders, serving in France. On his return from service, he became joint manager of the Aberdeen Free Press and Evening Gazette. In 1922, Aberdeen’s two morning and two evening newspapers were amalgamated and from then until he retired, in 1925, he was joint manager of Aberdeen Newspapers Ltd. In 1920 he was one of the delegates from Scotland to the Second Imperial Press Conference at Ottawa – on the way back he took part in the first successful experiment of telephoning from mid-Atlantic to Britain – and in 1924 he was a member of a press delegation invited by Canadian National Railways to study agricultural conditions in Canada.
He entered local government in 1927 as a member of Aberdeen Town Council, becoming a magistrate in 1930, first baillie in 1932, and treasurer in 1934. In the following year he was appointed to succeed Sir Henry Alexander as Lord Provost, an office which he held until 1938. Both men had worked together as journalists and both of their fathers had been joint editors of the Aberdeen Free Press.
A highlight of his three years as Lord Provost was the collection of the last £100,000 to complete the building and equipment of the new Royal Infirmary at Foresterhill. One of his predecessors, Sir Andrew Lewis, had been responsible for raising over £400,000, and the final £100,000 was collected within a year of the launching of Provost Watt’s appeal. He presided at the opening of the Infirmary by King George VI (then Duke of York) in 1936.
END.
See a page about him at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...tt_william.htm
A Letter from the Old Pretender which is believed to be hitherto unpublished. The original is or was in the Charter Room of Cullen House. The copy is contributed by Mr. W. Cramond, Cullen.
May 25, 1742.
‘I received in due time the letter or paper written by your friend in March last with another short paper in the same hand, that accompanied it. I have perused both with attention and satisfaction, and can easily remark in them a friend of experience and good sense and affection for our Country and my Family. I am no way surprised that my character and principles should be so little known, where he is, neither I nor my children have any occasions of declaring our sentiments. It is true we make no secret of them, but those who may be acquainted with them are but too often under a necessity of concealing what they may know on such heads. It will be a subject of just concern to me if any who profess my religion should by their intrigues or discourse, have given ground to attribute ill maxims to it, so contrary to its true principles as those mentioned in your friend’s letter, and if any of my well wishers in general declare in their conversation for arbitrary power, they are greatly against my interest. For as to those who are bribed to act to support the present arbitrary government, truly nobody can consider them as my friends, whatever may be their professions. But these are inconveniences and misfortunes for which I cannot be answerable, and to which I have but little in my power to put any remedy, while the enemies of my Country make to be sure the most of every thing that can tend to our disadvantage and can do it without restraint
It is therefore no wonder that I should be so much misrepresented and so little known. Were my conduct in the town of Rome put in a true light, it would not a little contribute to discredit the ill grounded fears and jealousies of many, and as for my sincerity in what I promised even during my exile, I think without having recourse to my present character, no doubt should be had on that head by any reasonable man who will rightly consider the present condition of my Family. We have now been more than fifty years out of our country, we have been bred and have lived in the school of adversity, unacquainted with Flattery and Power which always attends Princes on the throne and equally unacquainted with certain ambitious views, which are too common with them. If long experience teaches us how little we can depend on the friendship of Foreign Princes, whatever the views of a present interest may have formerly or may hereafter induce them to undertake in our favour.
Our Restoration would no doubt be much more agreeable both to our subjects and ourselves were it brought about without any Foreign assistance, but should it happen that any Foreign Power contributed to place me on the throne, it must be visible to every thinking man that I can never hope to keep it or enjoy Peace and happiness upon it but by gaining the love and affection of my subjects. I am far from approving the mistakes of former reigns, I see and feel the effects thereof, and should be void of all reflection if I did not propose to avoid them with the utmost care, and therefore I do not retain the least thought of assuming the Government on the footing which my father lost it. I am fully resolved to make the law the rule of my government, and absolutely disdain any intention of a dispensing power. I am certain that the ruin and oppression with which our country* is distressed, may make the greatest number of the people desirous of a change at any rate.
But for my part as natural and right as it is for me to desire that I and my Family should be restored to our just right, I am far at my age especially from desiring that that should happen but upon a real and solid foundation cemented by a mutual confidence between King and people by which the welfare & happiness of the nation may be effectually restored. It is manifest that not only justice but the interest of the nation require my restoration, because I never can have a separate interest from that of my country, nor any hope of Peace and Tranquillity for myself or my Family, but by cultivating the affection of my people and having only in view their Honour and happiness. I am persuaded there are many persons of great honour and merit who would be of this opinion, weremy true sentiments & disposition known to them,tho’ they are not at this time to be looked upon as wellwishers to my cause, neither do I wonder that they should have prejudices against it.
They have been bred up in them from their youth, and constantly confirmed in them, by all the artifices imaginable, but I hope the time is not far distant in which they will see things in a true light, and if they lay aside all unjust prejudices against me and lay to heart as much as I do the happiness and prosperity of our Country, I make no doubt but we shall be entirely satisfied with one another. It is fit your friend should know that I have by me a draught of Declaration which there has never been an occasion to publish. The Declaration was drawn in consequence of the sentiments and reflections exprest in this letter. It contains a general indemnity without exception, for all that has passed against me and my father, a solemn engagement to maintain the Church of England as by Law Established in all her rights, privileges, possessions, and immunities whatsoever, & as I am utterly averse to all animosities and persecution on account of religion, it also contains a promise to grant and allow a toleration to all Protestant Dissenters. I also express in it an utter aversion to the suspending the Habeas Corpus Act, as well as to the loading my subjects with unnecessary taxes or raising of any, in a manner burdensome to them & especially to the introducing foreign excise and all such methods as have hitherto been devised and pursued to acquire arbitrary Power at the expense of the liberty and property of the subjects. Besides that, there is a general article of my readiness to settle all that may relate to the welfare and happiness of the nation, both in Civil and Ecclesiastical matters, with the sincere advice and convenience of a Free Parliament.
‘In fine were I known and justice done to my sentiments I am convinced it would make many alter their present way of thinking and induce others to concur heartily in measures for my Restoration, as the most effectual way to restore peace and happiness to our Country. I thank God I am without resentment to anybody. I shall never retain any memory of past mistakes, and shall never make any other distinction amongst my subjects, but such as true merit and faithful services may authorize and require. I have ever had the greatest abhorence of all dissimulation, and will certainly never promise anything during my exile but what I will perform after my Restoration.
‘I am &c'
END.
Weekend is almost here and hope it's a good one for you.
Alastair
I was chatting with a friend over the holidays and he mentioned that what he liked about my sites was that all the pdf files were searchable and editable whereas most other sites have them in protected mode.
I confess that I make a point of only placing up versions that I can take bits from to create what I feel would make good articles. There are perhaps under a dozen pdf's that are password protected but all others are open for you to edit.
So just thought I'd mention this in case you weren't aware of this benefit
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I was also thinking about some of the content I have on the site from people that are no longer with us. For example, there was John Henderson, a Scottish English Teacher, who retired to Cyprus and contributed so much content to the site that I gave him his own menu item as "John's Page" and also "Songs". Also, Donna Flood, where likewise she has her own "Donna's Page" where she has a Scots ancestor but was a Matriarch of the Ponca Indian tribe in Oklahoma. Also, Margo Fallis, who wrote tons of "Children's Stories" for us who was also a transplanted Scot.
I should also mention Frank Shaw who I haven't heard from in ages who provided us with the series "Robert Burns Lives!" which you can get to under our "Robert Burns" menu.
And also Beth Gay and her husband Tom who between them sent us loads of content with firstly "Family Tree" which was at the time the leading Scots-American newspaper and then in pdf format "Beth's Family Tree" which was born out of the demise of the Family Tree newspaper but of course with the same editor, Beth Gay. Last time I talked to them both they were well and making progress but Beth has lost her ability to work the computer. We do live in hope she might recover and might contribute the odd article to us.
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I just noticed that I made an error while updating the header of the ElectricScotland site which removed all the links from individual pages so they were only available from the index page. Have now corrected this and the site is updating as I complete this newsletter. Sorry about that!
Scottish News from this weeks newspapers
I am partly doing this to build an archive of modern news from and about Scotland and world news stories that can affect Scotland and as all the newsletters are archived and also indexed on search engines it becomes a good resource. I might also add that in a number of newspapers you will find many comments which can be just as interesting as the news story itself and of course you can also add your own comments if you wish which I do myself from time to time.
Here is what caught my eye this week...
The 11-figure sum the UK could have had to fork out in 2025 had Brexit not happened
Thanks to Brexit, the UK taxpayer will not be subsidising the rest of the EU for another year, a thinktank says.
Read more at:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/19...n-union-budget
Canada's Next Prime Minister | Pierre Poilievre
Jordan Peterson sits down with Canadian member of Parliament Pierre Poilievre (and likely the next Prime Minister). They discuss his role as Leader of the Opposition, the untapped energy sector, the real reason Canadians cannot afford homes, how Justin Trudeau has walked the country off a cliff, and what will likely play out in 2025 leading up to the much-needed election.
Watch this at:
https://youtu.be/Dck8eZCpglc?si=b7tfSFZvyo8w9i-u
The Best Part Of The Peterson & Poilievre Interview That No One Noticed
There was still 30 minutes of the interview left between Pierre Poilievre and Jordan Peterson that you missed. Footage Courtesy Of The Daily Wire
Watch this at:
https://youtu.be/l7tQkWHulE4?si=QCqfSxLYTXc2ST5c
From Venezuela to Ottawa: Anaida Poilievre's Journey
In this episode, Tony Greco sits down with Anaida Poilievre, co-founder of the lifestyle platform Pretty & Smart Co. and wife of Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre. Anaida shares her incredible journey from Venezuela to Canada, her experience working in Canadian politics, and how she balances her roles as a mother, entrepreneur, and political partner.
Watch this at:
https://youtu.be/C0H_gujHaz4?si=TSryK7GQreKiS4vr
Are Canada's Conservatives the future of the Right?
Soon, the leader of the Canadian Conservative Party, Pierre Poilievre, will dominate the political conversation. While the Tories are struggling over here, Poilievre's party is on track for a 20-25 point election victory. But can British Conservatives learn from his success?
Read more at:
https://guymiscampbell.substack.com/...sh-gatekeepers
How to solve a problem like Reform
Reform's ascendancy has blindsided the Tories. No longer is the upstart party defined almost exclusively by Nigel Farage: other figures are gaining considerable popularity too. A strategy for competing with Reform is possible, but Kemi Badenoch will need to change her reactive approach to a proactive one.
Read more at:
https://capx.co/how-do-the-tories-so...em-like-reform
As an agent of change, Reform UK has no peers
CHANGE, the title of its manifesto, was the stand-out slogan of Labour’s campaign earlier this year against a lost fourteen years of Conservative rule. But when didn’t a political party or candidat promise change? Voters’ thirst for political change seems to have accelerated in the last year as, in democratic elections across the world, incumbency has ceased to confer an automatic advantage.
Read more at:
https://thinkscotland.org/2025/01/as...-has-no-peers/
Trump Appointee Reveals What’s Wrong with the US Army
This is an in-depth and wide-ranging discussion with former Assistant Secretary of the Army Casey Wardynski. Everything is covered from the highest-ranking generals who worked against President Trump in his first term, to the failures of the military response to the storm disaster in Western North Carolina, to what the DOD’s participation in January 6 might have been.
Watch this at:
https://youtu.be/TfSWBvGtQJ8?si=ZOlw7ynS_1trf4N9
Justin Trudeau RESIGNS
Justin Trudeau has announced his resignation as leader of Canada's Liberal Party, and it looks like the country's bad dream is coming to an end. Trudeau will be remembered for presiding over a litany of national and international controversies. For Canadian liberals and conservatives alike, his departure is a welcome one.
Read more at:
https://archive.is/WXAB2
China Update
China Update is about China economic and political news and analysis
Watch this at:
https://youtu.be/Q3PdLeW73WQ?si=eziK2FgGLcRqD2zl
Europe's biggest battery farm built on coal mine
Work is under way to create what has been described as Europe's largest battery storage project at Coalburn in South Lanarkshire
Read more at:
https://news.stv.tv/scotland/two-of-...shire-and-fife
How the once dismal John O' Groats is bouncing back
Fifteen years ago John O' Groats was given an award for being the "most dismal" place in Scotland. Since then, the village on Scotland's north eastern tip has been transformed by a series of regeneration projects.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0mvemn7rn7o
Nation’s favourite pie a symbol of our generosity
Like in many households across Scotland on January 1, a steak pie will sit at the centre of Gordon Newlands’s family table. He wouldn’t have it any other way.
Read more at:
https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/new-year-steak-pie/
This Winter, Revel in the Deliciously Bad Puns of Scotland's Salt Truck Names
An online tracker lets folks anywhere around the world follow the exploits of "Thistle Do Icely" and "Taylor Drift."
Read more at:
https://www.roadandtrack.com/offbeat...ow-plow-names/
Italian Prime Minister H.E. Giorgia Meloni, introduced by Elon Musk
H.E. Giorgia Meloni, President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic, accepts the 2024 Atlantic Council Global Citizen Award. She is introduced by Elon Musk, Chief Engineer of SpaceX and Chief Executive Officer of Tesla.
Watch this at:
https://youtu.be/NKiWSLGibJc?si=XVts_gMcCfnnfOZl
Zero tolerance is the answer to child sexual exploitation
Some issues in public life should be very easy: safeguarding children as an absolute priority is one of them. Avoiding heaping shame on the innocent is another. The longstanding principles of justice in our country ought to make both ideas apparent.
Read more at:
https://capx.co/zero-tolerance-is-th...l-exploitation
Bad data and blind eyes fuelled grooming gangs
Those calling for a national inquiry into child grooming gangs and the authorities’ response are right to do so. There is much to be accounted for even the statistics failed victims. In particular, the Crown Prosecution Service only gathers data on child sexual abuse. It has no data on child sexual exploitation.
Read more at:
https://capx.co/bad-data-and-blind-e...grooming-gangs
Grooming gang convicted of raping women in Dundee
A Romanian grooming gang has been convicted of raping and sexually abusing 10 women in flats across Dundee.
Read more at:
https://news.stv.tv/north/grooming-g...rape-in-dundee
Does Britain want to join Trump’s new world order?
Goodbye EU, hello AU? It’s been evident for a few months now that Donald Trump’s second administration will be more geostrategically ambitious than his first. Yesterday, in another extraordinary press conference in Mar-a-Lago, we got a glimpse of what Trump and his advisers are thinking for the planet in 2025 and beyond.
Read more at:
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/...w-world-order/
Dundee University 'cannot be allowed to fail' in face of £30m deficit, MSP warns
Staff were told last year job cuts were ‘inevitable’ amid £30m budget deficit.
Read more at:
https://news.stv.tv/north/dundee-uni...icit-msp-warns
Electric Canadian
The World's Work
(1900–1932) was a monthly magazine that covered national affairs from a pro-business point of view. I have found the first 10 volumes of this work and have added volumes 1 & 2 to the page. I am sorry to say that volume 1 is a very poor scan and is almost unreadable.
You can get to these at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/maga...worldswork.htm
Emigrant's Pocket Companion
Containing what emigration is, who should be emigrants, where emigrants should go; a description of British North America, especially the Canadas; and full instructions to intending emigrants by Robert Mudie (1832) (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...00mudiuoft.pdf
Emigration to the Canadas (pdf)
On the last feast of St. Andrew's, a Scotch settler of great talent, in proposing Upper Canada as a toast, thus as truly as eloquently spoke, fully bearing out the principles just now advanced:-
"Canada is young; it has much to be proud of, notwithstanding its youth; it is the birth-place of John Beverly Robinson, James Buchannan Macauley, and Archibald McLean, men whose high character, integrity, and acquirements, would throw a lustre on the character of any country. The intrepid conduct of the immortal Brock, and the brave men who gloriously fell with him on the heights of Queenston, defending the country against the southern invaders, will bear everlasting testimony to its early prowess. Windsor and Prescott will record its increasing vigour, and truly manly British character. The western frontiers of the province will be pointed out to generations unborn as hallowed ground—the scenes of its trials and sufferings—of its patience and forbearance; as the seat where folly and crime, but not its own, spread sorrow, desolation, and death; where the basest and most abandoned of our race—those corrupted and inhuman wretches that hover around the haunts of infamy and dissipation, in the neighbouring country—have imperiously, in the name of sacred liberty, trodden under foot every feeling and law, human and divine, and put themselves, as it were, in array against God and man; and put human nature to open shame, by the enormity of their crimes. There, in the solemn 'noon of night,' the heavens have been illuminated with the flames that devoured the dwellings and hard-earned substance of the inoffending Canadians, while the execrable incendiary revelled amid the exulting shouts of the demoniac orgies on the opposite shore. Let every man in the room understand me, that I do not allude to these events as relating to party, but as grave portions of Canadian history—as a warning voice from heaven, addressed to the land at large, proclaiming aloud that it is full time for the troubled waters of strife and discord to subside; for the Ark of good sense to find some Ararat to rest upon, that the Canadian dove might be sent forth with the olive-branch of peace and reconciliation. No peace or reconciliation can be permanent that is not founded upon an invincible determination to form the character of the country after, and continue its eternal connexion with the illustrious Empire whose soil is holy—upon which the African and Indian stands free and regenerated — upon the boundless dominions of which, the sun never sets."
Just a comment about Canada becoming the 51st State... I think not... <grin>
You can read this article at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/hist...he-Canadas.pdf
The Railway Clauses Consolidation Acts of Canada
14 & 15 Victoria, Chapter 51, And 16 Victoria, Chapter 169, with an alphabetical and analytical index by Alexander Morris. M. A., Barrister-at-Law, Montreal (1853) (pdf)
You can read this at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/tran...esco00morr.pdf
Thoughts on a Sunday Morning - the 5th of January 2024 - Resolutions
By the Rev. Nola Crewe
You can watch this at:
http://www.electricscotland.org/foru...24-resolutions
Alicia Walsh
I enjoy experimenting with alternative ways of living and thinking. I want to inspire you to challenge yourself, to dream bigger, and pursue your passions. To live your life in a way that fulfills and enriches your spirit. Being outside provides benefits beyond measure for our health and well being. I feel that the modern world has led us to great disconnections with our families, with ourselves, and the earth. I hope to change this cycle through sharing stories of my outdoor explorations and adventures. My most recent endeavour includes bringing you along for the wild journey of building an off-grid homestead in the Boreal Forest bordering Central and Western Newfoundland. I am a Mom and a creative. I am also a 200Hr Certified Yoga Teacher, and Veterinary Technician.
You can watch this video at:
https://www.youtube.com/@OutdoorLifeOnTheRock
The Beaver Magazine
Added Volume 3 No. 11 (pdf)
You can read this issue at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/tran...August1923.pdf
Electric Scotland
Scotland must closely scrutinise data cantre overseas overtures
Scotland is endowed with a centuries-old enthusiasm towards practically anything hinting at innovation. An article by Bill Magee.
You can read this article at:
https://electricscotland.com/magee/article0023.pdf
Tommy Robertson
As he is in the news a lot these days I thought I'd compile a page about him mostly from videos available on YouTube. The videos of course include information on the Grooming Gangs.
You can read and watch this content at:
https://electricscotland.com/lifesty...yrobertson.htm
Calendar of the Laing Charters
A.D. 854-1837 belonging to the University of Edinburgh, edited by The Rev. John Anderson, Assistant Curator of the Historical Department, H. M. General Register House, Edinburgh (1899) (pdf)
You can read this book at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...ingc00edin.pdf
The Bains of psychology
Two Scots, both called Alexander Bain, played instrumental roles in the formative years of psychology, touching on perception, and they have often been confused. (pdf)
You can read this article at:
https://electricscotland.com/history/articles/bains.pdf
Debrett's House of Commons, and the Judicial Bench. (twentieth annual edition)
Illustrated with 800 Armorial engravings compiled and Edited by Robert Henry Mair, LL.D, (1886) (pdf)
You can read this volume at:
https://electricscotland.com/books/p...86londuoft.pdf
Pioneering in Formosa
Recollections of adventures among the Mandarins, Wreckers, Head-Hunting Savages by W. A. Pickering, C.M.G., with an appendix on British policy and interests in China and the Far East (1898) (pdf)
You can read this book at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...rmosa_text.pdf
Mudie, Robert
Miscellaneous writer. Added a page about him at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...die_robert.htm
and links to a selection of his books such as...
The Picture of Australia
Exhibiting New Holland, Van Diemen's Land, and all the settlements, from the first at Sydney to the last at the Swan River by Robert Mudie (1829) (pdf)
Which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...tral00mudi.pdf
and also...
The Emigrant's Pocket Companion
In British North America by Robert Mudie (pdf)
https://electricscotland.com/history...00mudiuoft.pdf
Historical Account of His Majesty's Visit to Scotland
George IVth by Robert Mudie
https://electricscotland.com/history...coun00mudi.pdf
The Picture of India
Geographical, Historical and Descriptive by Robert Mudie (third edition) (1830) (pdf)
https://electricscotland.com/history...ureofindia.pdf
China and its Resources
And peculiarities, physical, political, social and commercial with a view of the opium question and a notice of Assam by Robert Mudie (1840) (pdf)
https://electricscotland.com/history...-Resources.pdf
The Modern Athens
A Dissection and Demonstration of Men and Things in the Scotch Capital by A modern Greek, Robert Mudie (1825) (pdf)
https://electricscotland.com/history...dernathens.pdf
and many others.
Biographical Notices of Thomas Young, S.T.D.
Vicar of Stowmarket, Suffolk by David Laing,, the editor of Principle Baillie's "Letters and Journals" (1870) (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...00lainuoft.pdf
The Historical Manuscripts Commission (HMC)
By Norman James (pdf)
You can read this article about them at:
https://electricscotland.com/history/articles/hmc.pdf
The First Jenny Wormald Lecture
(Edinburgh, 27 October 2023) by Jane E. A. Dawson (pdf)
You can read this lecture at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...y-scotland.pdf
The priest, the crofters, and the Uist rocket range
By Neil Bruce, The Innes Review 75.2 (2024): 155–186 (pdf)
You can read this article at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...cket-range.pdf
Come Under My Plaidie
Scotch song by Hector M'Neil with new pianoforte accompaniment (pdf)
You can read this song along with the musical score at:
https://electricscotland.com/poetry/Plaidie.pdf
Poems and Songs of James Kennedy Sanquhar
The second edition revised and corrected, with numerous additions (1824) (pdf)
You can read this book at:
https://electricscotland.com/poetry/...ongs00kenn.pdf
Poem of the Royal Company of Scottish Archers (1713)
You can read this poem at:
https://electricscotland.com/poetry/...homas_1713.pdf
Scottish Society of Louisville
Got in their January 2025 newsletter which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/familyt...ille/index.htm
Miscellany of The Scottish History Society
Added the Seventh Volume which contains The Diary of Sir William Drummond of Hawthornden, The Exiled Stewarts in Italy, The Locharkaig Treasure.
You can get to this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history/shs/index.htm
John Watson Shipbuilder
Whitehills & Banff 1830 to 1879 By Stanley Bruce (pdf)
You can read this book at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...JAN2025-V1.pdf
His other books on the Shipbuilding in Aberdeen can get found at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...ipbuilding.htm
Story
Three stories for you this week...
IN MEMORIAM
ALEXANDER M'LEAN OF MACOMB.
Hon. Alexander M‘Lean of Macomb, Illinois, U.S.A, was one of the best known and most highly respected citizens of the great State of Illinois. His native tongue was the Gaelic, of which fact he was very proud; and the Scottish Highlanders of Chicago, of which Society he was an honoured member, will greatly regret his death, which occurred early in October. He was a constant reader of the Celtic Monthly, and once said to me, “I shall take that Magazine as long as I live! C. C. M‘C.J
There’s a sound that has a meaning in the ancient name MacLean—
There’s a sound of roaring billows and a rush of driving rain,
And from out the sea there rises, westward from the Campbell’s shore,
Far away, a storm-swept island which our friend shall see no more!
But the island, in its struggles with the anger of the sea,
Speaks, in all its rocky grandeur, of a soul that’s ever free—
Speaks of honesty and fearlessness of heart and hand and brain,
Of the brave, undaunted manhood sounding in the name MacLean.
Like the whistle of the claymore in the hand of ancient Gael;
Like the clang of steel on target ’midst the battle’s bloody hail;
Like the sudden blast of trumpet, or the pibroch’s piercing strain,
You can hear the note of honour ringing in the name MacLean.
Yet the men of old Clan Gillean are not always plunged in strife,
For to deeds of peaceful honour they have also given life;
And a note of hearty friendship, with a kindliness in train,
Gives your heart a warmer feeling when you meet with a MacLean.
So, old Mull, their rugged island, when the wind sleeps on the sea,
In the Summer sun is shining in a peaceful reverie;
And its cliff’s seem strangely tender when the seabirds rest again,
And the heather-bells wave gently o’er the tomb of the MacLean!
END.
EDWARD WILLIAM WATT (1877-1955)
Edward William Watt was born in 1877, the eldest son of William Watt and Marjorie Robertson. He attended the Aberdeen Grammar School from 1883-94 and graduated MA from Aberdeen University in 1898. After spending six months in Brunswick, Germany, he joined the staff of the Aberdeen Free Press and from 1902-04 was a member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery, before returning to become chief sub-editor of the Free Press. In 1906, on the death of his father, he became editor of the Evening Gazette.
He enlisted during the First World War and rose to the rank of Lt Colonel in the Gordon Highlanders, serving in France. On his return from service, he became joint manager of the Aberdeen Free Press and Evening Gazette. In 1922, Aberdeen’s two morning and two evening newspapers were amalgamated and from then until he retired, in 1925, he was joint manager of Aberdeen Newspapers Ltd. In 1920 he was one of the delegates from Scotland to the Second Imperial Press Conference at Ottawa – on the way back he took part in the first successful experiment of telephoning from mid-Atlantic to Britain – and in 1924 he was a member of a press delegation invited by Canadian National Railways to study agricultural conditions in Canada.
He entered local government in 1927 as a member of Aberdeen Town Council, becoming a magistrate in 1930, first baillie in 1932, and treasurer in 1934. In the following year he was appointed to succeed Sir Henry Alexander as Lord Provost, an office which he held until 1938. Both men had worked together as journalists and both of their fathers had been joint editors of the Aberdeen Free Press.
A highlight of his three years as Lord Provost was the collection of the last £100,000 to complete the building and equipment of the new Royal Infirmary at Foresterhill. One of his predecessors, Sir Andrew Lewis, had been responsible for raising over £400,000, and the final £100,000 was collected within a year of the launching of Provost Watt’s appeal. He presided at the opening of the Infirmary by King George VI (then Duke of York) in 1936.
END.
See a page about him at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...tt_william.htm
A Letter from the Old Pretender which is believed to be hitherto unpublished. The original is or was in the Charter Room of Cullen House. The copy is contributed by Mr. W. Cramond, Cullen.
May 25, 1742.
‘I received in due time the letter or paper written by your friend in March last with another short paper in the same hand, that accompanied it. I have perused both with attention and satisfaction, and can easily remark in them a friend of experience and good sense and affection for our Country and my Family. I am no way surprised that my character and principles should be so little known, where he is, neither I nor my children have any occasions of declaring our sentiments. It is true we make no secret of them, but those who may be acquainted with them are but too often under a necessity of concealing what they may know on such heads. It will be a subject of just concern to me if any who profess my religion should by their intrigues or discourse, have given ground to attribute ill maxims to it, so contrary to its true principles as those mentioned in your friend’s letter, and if any of my well wishers in general declare in their conversation for arbitrary power, they are greatly against my interest. For as to those who are bribed to act to support the present arbitrary government, truly nobody can consider them as my friends, whatever may be their professions. But these are inconveniences and misfortunes for which I cannot be answerable, and to which I have but little in my power to put any remedy, while the enemies of my Country make to be sure the most of every thing that can tend to our disadvantage and can do it without restraint
It is therefore no wonder that I should be so much misrepresented and so little known. Were my conduct in the town of Rome put in a true light, it would not a little contribute to discredit the ill grounded fears and jealousies of many, and as for my sincerity in what I promised even during my exile, I think without having recourse to my present character, no doubt should be had on that head by any reasonable man who will rightly consider the present condition of my Family. We have now been more than fifty years out of our country, we have been bred and have lived in the school of adversity, unacquainted with Flattery and Power which always attends Princes on the throne and equally unacquainted with certain ambitious views, which are too common with them. If long experience teaches us how little we can depend on the friendship of Foreign Princes, whatever the views of a present interest may have formerly or may hereafter induce them to undertake in our favour.
Our Restoration would no doubt be much more agreeable both to our subjects and ourselves were it brought about without any Foreign assistance, but should it happen that any Foreign Power contributed to place me on the throne, it must be visible to every thinking man that I can never hope to keep it or enjoy Peace and happiness upon it but by gaining the love and affection of my subjects. I am far from approving the mistakes of former reigns, I see and feel the effects thereof, and should be void of all reflection if I did not propose to avoid them with the utmost care, and therefore I do not retain the least thought of assuming the Government on the footing which my father lost it. I am fully resolved to make the law the rule of my government, and absolutely disdain any intention of a dispensing power. I am certain that the ruin and oppression with which our country* is distressed, may make the greatest number of the people desirous of a change at any rate.
But for my part as natural and right as it is for me to desire that I and my Family should be restored to our just right, I am far at my age especially from desiring that that should happen but upon a real and solid foundation cemented by a mutual confidence between King and people by which the welfare & happiness of the nation may be effectually restored. It is manifest that not only justice but the interest of the nation require my restoration, because I never can have a separate interest from that of my country, nor any hope of Peace and Tranquillity for myself or my Family, but by cultivating the affection of my people and having only in view their Honour and happiness. I am persuaded there are many persons of great honour and merit who would be of this opinion, weremy true sentiments & disposition known to them,tho’ they are not at this time to be looked upon as wellwishers to my cause, neither do I wonder that they should have prejudices against it.
They have been bred up in them from their youth, and constantly confirmed in them, by all the artifices imaginable, but I hope the time is not far distant in which they will see things in a true light, and if they lay aside all unjust prejudices against me and lay to heart as much as I do the happiness and prosperity of our Country, I make no doubt but we shall be entirely satisfied with one another. It is fit your friend should know that I have by me a draught of Declaration which there has never been an occasion to publish. The Declaration was drawn in consequence of the sentiments and reflections exprest in this letter. It contains a general indemnity without exception, for all that has passed against me and my father, a solemn engagement to maintain the Church of England as by Law Established in all her rights, privileges, possessions, and immunities whatsoever, & as I am utterly averse to all animosities and persecution on account of religion, it also contains a promise to grant and allow a toleration to all Protestant Dissenters. I also express in it an utter aversion to the suspending the Habeas Corpus Act, as well as to the loading my subjects with unnecessary taxes or raising of any, in a manner burdensome to them & especially to the introducing foreign excise and all such methods as have hitherto been devised and pursued to acquire arbitrary Power at the expense of the liberty and property of the subjects. Besides that, there is a general article of my readiness to settle all that may relate to the welfare and happiness of the nation, both in Civil and Ecclesiastical matters, with the sincere advice and convenience of a Free Parliament.
‘In fine were I known and justice done to my sentiments I am convinced it would make many alter their present way of thinking and induce others to concur heartily in measures for my Restoration, as the most effectual way to restore peace and happiness to our Country. I thank God I am without resentment to anybody. I shall never retain any memory of past mistakes, and shall never make any other distinction amongst my subjects, but such as true merit and faithful services may authorize and require. I have ever had the greatest abhorence of all dissimulation, and will certainly never promise anything during my exile but what I will perform after my Restoration.
‘I am &c'
END.
Weekend is almost here and hope it's a good one for you.
Alastair