Robert Harley secretary of State for the Northern Zone, (1704-1708) – His skilful employment of intelligence, and the important role he played in bringing about the union with Scotland.
The most distinctive feature, of Harley’s secretaryship, and the characteristic which marked him off from other secretaries of state of the period, was the organization and delivery of his “intelligence” network
To Harley, “intelligence” meant more than the employment of the ordinary secret service spies for the discovery of plots and hidden designs. He used spies, in France, Scotland, and elsewhere. To him the word intelligence also included the idea of ascertaining public opinion and going beyond that, an attempt to mould it.
One man best embodied to carry out this ideal in Scotland was Daniel Defoe, whose recruitment was achieved through the use of classic Harley intrigue. He arranged Defoe’s imprisonment in 1703 for having written, “the
Shortest Way with Dissenters.”
Shortly after the start of his jail sentence, Defoe was visited by one of Harley’s Under Secretary’s who offered him an early release from imprisonment subject to committing to write, with discretion articles for the press supportive of Government policies. Defoe readily agreed and was released near the end of 1703.
In February 1704, the infamous newspaper “The Review” was launched (a modern day equivalent would be, “The Telegraph.”). The organ of government was used by Defoe to publish many articles supporting Harley’s policies smoothing the political path to a Union with Scotland.
King William fell off his horse and died – Queen Anne ascended to the thrones of England and Scotland and Robert Harvey turned his attention to Scotland
Appointed secretary of state Harley was not long delayed in taking an interest in Scottish affairs, because he felt that the Hanoverian succession would remain insecure as long as the political status of Scotland with reference to England remained unsettled.
His activity in Scotland took several forms. He cultivated a habit of corresponding with a small number of Scottish leaders, namely William Carstares, George Leslie, the Earl of Leven, the Earl of Mar and surprisingly with “Doubting Thomas”, James Douglas, the fourth Duke of Hamilton.
He sent agents into Scotland to observe and report to him the deliberations of the Scottish parliaments, particularly after he became secretary of state, so that he might keep check on the partisan information he received from the Scots. On the basis of his correspondence and reports he offered advice to the Queen, and finally, he himself took a part, as an English Commissioner, in the meetings of 1702 and 1706, in which the provisions for a treaty of union were discussed and at length agreed upon.
Harley’s part in the first meeting of the commissioners was a very minor one. Anne’s first parliaments in both England and Scotland had passed acts at her suggestion and as a legacy of King William who had urged the Scottish union in his last speech) empowering commissioners to treat for a union. Harley, as speaker of the house of commons, was an English delegate. Yet of the twenty-three actual meetings in the period of negotiation (November, 1702-February, 1703) he attended only four.
Harley placed his greatest confidence in the letters from Carstares: William Carstares, a prominent Scottish divine, had been chaplain to William. His influence was so great with the monarch that he was called “the cardinal.” He met Harley in his frequent sojourns at the English court, and he had lived in England from the time of William’s death until he was made the principal of Edinburgh University (1703). Each man admired the coolness and moderation of the other.
His many absences from meetings was due to the fact that the English parliament was meeting simultaneously, and the speaker’s presence was in demand there. Some useful agreements were reached, but arguments
over church and trade, and the dwindling attendance of the English Tory delegates which caused the commission to be adjourned for eight months.
And it never met again.
In the second attempt at union (1706), Harley’s activity was more varied and more effective. By this time he had learned the Scottish situation much more thoroughly, and had seen the storm clouds in the north assume threatening proportions, especially after the Scots had framed their Act of Security and forced its acceptance (1704). Finally, he had observed the ill effects of Godolphin’s waverings between the plan of union and that of persuading the Scots to accept the Hanoverian succession. He himself was convinced that a union was the final solution. Indeed, statesmen of both countries approached the second attempt at treaty making in a more chastened and determined mood than had been evident in 1702.
In England the elections of 1705 had brought victory for Harleian “moderation,” and a parliament slightly Whiggish in tone, and inclined to favor a union. As a result the threatening bills levelled at Scotland after the passage of their Act of Security were soon repealed providing openings for the commissioners to meet.
Scotland fixed the number of commissioners at thirty-one and England,
chose the same number. The task of selecting the Scottish representatives was put largely in the hands of the Duke of Queensberry and the Earl of Mar. The choice of the English delegates was handed to Robert Harley.
The English list was completed in April. It was dubbed “Whiggish,” since many of the prominent ones had been included.
Some Scots backed the discussions in 1705 in the belief that union would never succeed, but a strong group considered it to be the only solution of Scotland’s difficulties.
The Scottish commissioners were primarily pro-union, for only three later voted against it in the Scottish parliament. One of these was George Lockhart, the Jacobite memoir writer. The Duke of Argyle refused to serve, because the
Duke of Hamilton was omitted (contrary to a promise). Many Scots wanted the Marquis of Annandale on their list, but he refused. Sir William Fraser as did, The Melvilles and the Leslies.
Har;ey’s selection for commisioner roles comprised of inividuals that fully supported his agenda.
The commissioners first met in joint session on 16 April 1706, and completed their deliberations and presented the final articles of the treaty on 23 July.
Harley took an active part in the transactions. As a commissioner, he attended the ordinary meetings and presented the English case at a joint session on the delicate subject of the number of Scottish representatives to be allowed in the union parliament. He was also a member of the important committee which was appointed to investigate the “state of the taxes” in order to determine the amount of the “equivalent” which was to be paid to Scotland for accepting English taxation.
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