Talk:Archibald Johnston

Johnston the Covenanter.

I am far from being an expert on the life of Archibald Johnston, but this piece is rich in factual error and intellectual confusion. It is also, at points, very badly worded. The whole thing needs restructured, but for the time being I have restricted my actions to some corrections of detail.

1. Charles did not attempt to force the 'English Liturgy' on Scotland. The Prayer Book of 1637 was compiled by Scottish bishops.

2. The first paragraph managed a bewildering synthesis between Johnston's speech at the town cross of Edinburgh-not Greyfriar's Churchyard-on 22 February and the initial signing of the National Covenant at Greyfriars on 28 February.

3. The settlement at the end of the First Bishops' War in June 1639 is known as the Pacification of Berwick. The cross-reference to the Treaty of Berwick called up the Anglo-Scots agreement of 1586.

4. "He urged Charles to refrain from annulling the acts of the assembly since this would restrict all future assemblies". I personally have no idea what this means. The Pacification did withdraw the acts of the 'illegal' Glasgow Assembly, but this did nothing to stop the same acts being introduced and ratified by the Edinburgh Assembly in 1640. Charles used the words quoted when Johnston questioned his sincerity.

5. I do not understand the reference to 'the engagement forced by Lord Saville.'

6. The 'Treaty of Uxbridge' refers to the abortive negotiations between Charles and the Parliamentary moderates in early 1645. There were no written articles, and even if there were they could not have been drawn up by Johnstone, who was in Edinburgh at the time.

7. The section headed 'The Remonstrants' was extremly muddled. The Remonstrants-or Protestors-only emerge in late 1650-not at the time of the Engagement-, in response to a Resolution in the General Assembly to abandon the Act of Classes.

8. Johnstone read out sentence of death against Montrose previously agreed by Parliament. It is far too biased to describe it as 'vindictive.'

9. Leslie decided to engage Cromwell in battle at Dunbar, with no interference from Johnstone or anyone else.

10. "He is described by Robert Baillie as one of the most faithful and diligent and able servants that our church and kingdom has had all the tymes of our." (sic) Of our what? I've taken this out until such times as the quotation is completed.

On a related point I thought I was reasonably familiar with the three published volumes of Baillie's Letters and Papers. I may, of course, have missed something but I remember very little that would substantiate the claim that Johnston was 'beloved' by Baillie. The two men were as different from one another as it is possible to get.

11. In what way did he 'serve' the church while in office under Cromwell? Also could I please have some reference to the 'severe censure' Johnston received for serving under the Protectorate? As a member of the Protectorate's council of state and committee of safety he maintained "consistently his attitude against religious toleration." How can this be reconciled with serving a state commited to the toleration of a wide variety of Protestant sects?

12. "He was hated by Charles I, whose statecraft was vanquised by his inflexible purpose..." Again, I do understand what this is meant to convey. There is, besides, no evidence that Charles 'hated' Johnston, or anyone else for that matter.

13. What opportunity did Charles II have for 'dissolute conduct' in Covenanted Scotland? He was rebuked by Johnston for showing a lukewarm commitment to the Presbyterian crusade.

13. "He was...lamented by the nation whose cause he had championed." All I can say about this is that 'the nation' must have 'lamented' in a very private fashion; for the only public response to his death was as a source of mass entertainment. As for his alleged 'championship' of the nation it should be noted that he was in secret correspondence with Cromwell prior to Dunbar, expressing the concern that he may have allied himself with 'malignants'. The contention that he and the Committee of Estates 'ordered' Leslie into battle at Dunbar is, as I have said, wrong; but Johnstone's wholesale purges on the eve of battle must be considered as a major contribution to the Scottish defeat. Rcpaterson 02:22, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

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