Corpus of Modern Scottish Writing (CMSW) - www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/cmsw/ Document : 565 Title: Letter Home from London on 1715 Uprising, No. 3 Author(s): Morthland, Mr Charles D. Sr. Lon Octob 11 1715 I wrote to you Laſt poſt & by expreſs tueſday before both which I hope are come to your hands. I shall now endeavour to give you ſome ſketches of what has Occur'rd ſince. Our Letters from france continue to give favourable accounts and particularly of the good diſpoſitions of the Regent towards our preſent happy settlement of the succeſsion in his Maj family, he has acquainted the proper Nuncio that the ſupremacy is not to take any place in France but that the Gallican Church is to be governd by its own Biſhops, all the Diſgrac'd Biſhops are returned to Court, where the Jeſuits have no Intereſt, and every thing appears ready there for ſome Changes in matters of Religion, Dr Alex told me Laſt day that there are ſeverall Doctrines that dare aſsert in yr writings that neither tranſubſtantiation nor Conſubſtatiation are eſsential to Chriſtianity & that the Regent seems to favour the opinion, that its very Common to find a New teſtament in the Roman Catholick familys &c all this gives a very agreeable proſpect, if there were not ſo many both att home and abroad that ſeem reſolved to exert themſelves ſo obſtinately in oppoſition to all information, & to ſupport the antichristian Intereſt, I am ſure the preſent Confusions are flaming Inſtances of the wicked diſpoſitions of some people to Enſlave uſ under a popiſh Tyrant and its to me an aſtoniſhment yt there should be [a] proteſtant in this Iland not convinc'd of this truth when he ſees the great promoters of the preſent Rebellion to be open purpoſed papiſts. God be thanked that the work goes backward in yr hands and that there is good hopes that a Little time will bring all matters to a quiet and peaceable ſtate again. Colonel Pepper has humbled a Little yt pride of Oxford, & purg'd all of that Neſt of Jacobites that had retreated yr for safety, and miſs'd only Coll: Owen the cheif raſscal another Coll: has done the same at Bath where they have alſo found out 13 cheſts of arms & a hogſhead of broadſwords juſt as many as to furniſh a Regt of Horſe. Some honeſt gentlmen and Clergymen of conſiderable Intereſt & note that have all along acted zealouſly in the tory Intereſt, but who it ſeems have not been Jacobiteſ, and now cur'd of their blindneſſ and beginn to ſee the Danger of the Late Meaſures. Mr Lewis in Hampſhire a man of 6 or 7000 lib p an: fortune, came Laſt week to a meeting of the County where was the D of Bolton & Lieutenant and offerd his ſervice in Defence of the King & Country, [telling] his Grace withall that he waſ now perſwaded what tendency the tory measures had & was reſolved to join them no more, the Duke made him very wellcome but ſaid that he wiſhed he had been perſwaded ſooner for the Management of that party had been too long very obvious and plain for the pretender, Mr Lowy told his Grace that he never believd it till Lately that they had offerd him the aſsocciation to ſubscribe. I hear there is an Eminent head of a Colledge in Oxford followed Mr Lowy's Exmple. Genll Carpenter went down to Newcaſtle Laſt night to ſuppreſs the Inſurrection that is Like to be among the Roman Catholicks & 3 Regts of Draggoons are to [¿] there, and we dont doubt but he'll be able to give a good acct of ye Rebells yn Northumberland. They are headed I hear by the Earls of Witherington & Derwentwater and the two Mrs Fooſters. Mr Horace Walpole is Returnd from Holland and has not been eight days gonne, his busineſſ was to negotiat the guarantee troops, the Council of State have been ſo ready to ſay to his Maj: that they have ordered theſe troops to be ready & proposed tranſports and appointed yt Commanding officer to take his orders from his Bailawick Maj whenever he pleaſd to go to you and this that honeſt Concil have done without Conſulting their principals, a very unuſual ſtep in ym. ſo that thoſe troops ly ready to embarque when our King George pleaſes. Beſides 17000 men that are actually now ſtanding troops in England, the Government have provided 13000 french proteſtants, and other honeſt men whom they can Confide in, in and about London, who are all regimented & well armd, and ready at a call, so that you ſee without yt Militia which is now in good hands we have 30000 men in England in our ſervice. The Empr is very hearty his Ambaſdor to the King is come to Utrecht and will be here shortly, The pretender is ſtill at Barleduc, Lamenting the death of the French King & saying Maſses for his soul. The Duke had your Letter with the ſynods addreſs and is extremely well pleaſd with it, he is an honeſt man, but heartily vexd att the behaviour of ſome people he has done so much ſervice to, but to whom I [allow] he'll do no more. But this to your ſelf, I have wearied you with [¿]. The [¿] have ye reſt of the news, except that the honeſt Earl of Lincoln has Got Mr Walpoles place of paymaſter he needs ſuch a beneficial place, but which is better he deſerves it. adieu pray for my [wife] often.