"Thus did Edward establish himself as the liege lord of this kingdom;
and whether the oppresion which followed were his or his agents'
immediate acts, it matters not, for he made them his own by his
after-conduct. When remonstrances were sent to London, he neither
punished nor reprimanded the delinquents, but marched an armed force
into our country, to compel us to be trampled on. It was not an
Alexander nor a Charlemagne, coming in his strength to subdue ancient
enemies, or to aggrandize his name, by vanquishing nations far remote,
with whom he could have no affinity! Terrible as such ambition was, it
is innocence to what Edward has done. He came, in the first instance,
to Scotland as a friend; the nation committed its dearest interests to
his virtue; they put their hands into his and he bound them in
shackles. Was this honor? Was this the right of conquest? The cheek
of Alexander would have blushed deep as his Tyrian robe; and the face
of Charlemagne turned pale as the lilies, at the bare suspicion of
being capable of such a deed.
"No, Lord Montgomery, it is not our conqueror we are opposing; it is a
traitor, who, under the mask of friendship, has attempted to usurp our
rights, destroy our liberties, and make a desert of our once happy
country.
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