History of the Fife Pitcairns

106 THE FIFE PITCAIRNS.
July 30. Demands of the Commendator of Dunfermline, Am-
bassador from the King of Scots to the Queen of England. 1
Pitcairn returned to Edinburgh on the 15th Dec. 1570.
157 1, Feb. 4. Answer to the Notes of the injuries alleged to have
been done by the Queen of Scotland's party, since the granting of
the last abstinence.
Feb. 8. Reply to the same, made by the Abbot of Dunfermline
and the Commissioners, on the part of the King of Scots. 2
Late in December, when it was impossible any longer for Lennox
and his Council to avoid definite recognition of the negociations in
progress and of Elizabeth's wishes, than had been signified by the
presence of a single Commissioner and representative in the person
of Pitcairn, Commendator of Dunfermling and Secretary of State,
the Convention of Estates appointed a larger embassy, Lord Morton
as Commissioner in Chief, with Secretary Pitcairn and Clerk of
Register MacGill as his associates, and, having voted a Taxation of
^12,000 for the expenses of the Embassy, Lord Morton, Pitcairn,
and MacGill left Edinburgh 5th February 1571. 3
When they returned a Parliament was assembled at
Stirling, to whom Lord Morton gave a summary account
of his embassy as follows : —
When we arrived in London on February 20th, having been
referred by the Queen of England to seven commissioners, chosen
from her Council, we were asked to explain the reasons of our
proceedings during the past years, and support them by such
arguments that should satisfy her of the justice of our cause.
Then Lord Morton stated in full what they replied in the
Memorial they drew up as to the crime of their King's mother, and
why she was deposed. On the last day of February, it was read
before the learned and virtuous men appointed by the Queen to
confer with us, and we gave them a copy to lay before Her Majesty.
Next day, March 1st, we went to court again in the morning,
to learn not only what was the Queen's opinion of our Memorial
but of the whole cause.
But as Her Majesty was about to set out to her country seat,
three miles below London near the village of Greenwich, we had
no opportunity of seeing her.
Then, as a next resource, we had a conference with the noble-
men of her Council, with Cecil (now Lord Burleigh), also separ-
1 Calendar of State Papers for Scot., entries 1393, 1404. Bannatyne's
Memorials.
2 Calendar of State Papers. 3 Haddington MS., p. xxi, 1541-71.