The History of the Reformation of the Church of Scotland

We suspecting nothing that the Queen Regent was consenting to the forenamed murder, most humbly did complain of such unjust cruelty, requiring that justice in such cases should be ministered with greater indifferency. She as a woman born to dissemble,¹ and deceive, began with us to lament the cruelty of the Bishop, excusing her self as innocent in that cause, for that the sentence was given without her knowledge. Because the man sometimes had been a Priest; therefore the Bishops Official did proceed upon him without any commission of the Civill authority, ex officio, as they term it. We yet nothing suspecting her falsehood, required some order to be taken against such enormities, which she promised as oft before. But because shortly after there was a Parliament to be holden, for certain affairs, pertaining rather to the Queens profit particular, then to the commodity of the Common-wealth, we thought good to ⟨p. 131⟩expose our matter unto the whole Parliament, and by them to seek some redress: we therefore with one consent did offer to the Queen and Parliament a Letter, in this Tenor: The Form of the Letter given in Parliament. Unto your Majesty, and unto your Right honourable Lords, Barons, and Burgesses of this present Parl. Humbly means, and showeth your Majesties faithful and obedient subjects, That where we are daily molested, slandered, and injured by wicked and ignorant persons, place-holders of the Ministers of the Church, who most untruly cease not to infame us, as heretics, & under that name they most cruelly have persecuted divers of our brethren; and farther intend to execute their malice against us, unless by some godly order their fury and rage be bridled and stayed. And yet in us they are able to prove no crime worthy of punishment, unless that to read the holy Scriptures in our Assemblies, to invocate the Name of God in public Prayers, with all sobriety to interpret and open the places of Scripture that be read to the further edification of the brethren assembled; and truly, according to Christ Jesus his holy Institution, to minister the Sacraments, be crimes worthy of punishment: other crimes (we say) in us they are not able to convince. And to the premises we are compelled, for that the said Place-holders discharge no part of their duties rightly to us, neither yet to the people subject to us;

We suspecting nothing that the Queene Regent was consenting to the forenamed murther, most humbly did complain of such unjust crueltie, requiring that justice in such cases should be ministred with greater indifferencie. She as a woman born to dissemble,