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Middleton was born to John Middleton, 1st Earl of Middleton and Grizel Durham in 1649 or 1650, and spent time in both Scotland and London during his youth. He was known as Lord Clermont after his father was elevated to the peerage in 1656. He perused a military career and succeeded to his father's earldom in 1674.



Around 1679–80, his name was put forward to succeed John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale as Secretary of State for Scotland. Charles II awarded the post to Alexander Stuart, 5th Earl of Moray, and Middleton became envoy to the imperial court in Vienna in June 1680 to forge an alliance with Leopold I. Middleton returned to Scotland in July 1681 and became favoured by James Stuart, Duke of York (later James II & VII) and his wife Mary. He became a member of the Scottish Privy Council and after a recommendation by the duke, became joint Secretary of State for Scotland with Moray on 26 September 1682.
In 1684, his career moved to English politics, sworn of the English Privy Council in July and becoming Secretary of State for the Northern Department in August. He became Member of Parliament for Winchelsea in 1685, and with Richard Graham, 1st Viscount Preston, he had the difficult task of managing the House of Commons for James II. He was present at the birth of James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales in June 1688 and became Secretary of State for the Southern Department in September 1688. He was loyal to James after the king fled to France, although he remained in England, and was replaced as Secretary of State by his nephew, Charles Talbot, 12th Earl of Shrewsbury.

In 1693, Middleton joined the exiled king at Saint-Germain after he proposed a more moderate declaration for a Jacobite restoration than James' chief advisor and Secretary of State, John Drummond, 1st Earl of Melfort. He became joint Secretary of State with Melfort, responsible for correspondence with England and Scotland, and became sole Secretary of State after Melfort was dismissed in June 1694. In England, he was tried for treason and outlawed on 23 July 1694, and attainted on 2 July 1695.

He continued in this post until James' death in September 1701, when he joined, by the king's will, the regency council to assist Mary of Modena during the minority of James' son, James III (James Francis Edward). Despite his wish to resign, he was persuaded to remain in office. He was also awarded the Jacobite peerage of Earl of Monmouth in the Peerage of England.

Middleton served as Secretary of State to James III and accompanied him during the Franco-Jacobite attempt to invade Scotland in March 1708. He resigned in 1713 and was appointed Master of the Horse by Mary of Modena. In 1716, he briefly joined James in Scotland during the Jacobite rising, before returning to France and serving as lord chamberlain to Mary of Modena until her death in 1718. He was granted a pension by the French government and died in 1719

Hi all I found this link the other day, you may have seen this but I had to share These would be the holy grail for me
A few of the lads from NFD, got to hold the sword very cool

http://forums.swordf...ead.php?t=80548

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By noon, the Devil had done his work, and the Factor's men rounded us up like beasts and we were made to walk to Ullapool, carrying with us what we could and driving our few beasts before us. It took us two days to get there. I had no shoes and my feet were very sore. We were all cold and wet from the icy wind and smirr. We were all hungry as we did not have any food. Some people in a nearby township took pity on us and tried to give us food, but the Factor warned them that anyone who did aid us would have the same treatment and a passage to America. We got no food.
At night we took what shelter we could, behind walls, with blankets for a tent, but it was bitterly cold and we could not sleep. A woman give birth before her time and the baby was born dead. A three week old baby died of cold and the bodies were put in the ground without a Christian burial or marker.

NOTE
The bereft mother carried the little body wrapped in a shawl with her for a day, completely distraught with grief, until the womenfolk prevailed upon her to bury her child. There are also harrowing accounts of rapes, beatings and other humiliations carried out by the Factors men, which stagger belief.
At last we got to Ullapool, to find the emmigrant ship moored at the roads with boats waiting at the stone wharf. The factor then took all the beasts and the few possessions the people had got with them, as 'Payment' for our passage. Each person was given a bag of 'Sowans' (Husked Oatmeal) to last us the voyage and we were told to be ready to embark on the following day.

The Policemen guarded us all that night, but there was no sleep for us, for the lamenting and sorrow would not let us go by.
Before dawn, my father noticed a fishing boat approaching the wharf and recognised one of the crew as Cousin Domnhull from Puirtrigh (Portree). Domnhull persuaded his cousin, the owner of the boat, to come alongside the wharf and we got in quickly before the Policemen noticed.
The boat pulled away, and the policeman called out to the boat's crew to return us to the wharf, but as they called out in the English tongue, which was ignored as if no-one understood, we left them shouting and cursing us.
It took 2 days to row to Puirtrigh. We sheltered one night in the lee of Rassay where we obtained food in exchange for fish and at last came to the house of my father's cousin, where we were made welcome. They were poor like us, but their home was our home. My father found a small place in the south of Bailemeanach and my mother went into service with the local minister, indeed I went into service for him too, when I was 12.
Some years later, we learned by letter from a relation that the ship had arrived at Pictou, Nove Scotia, but that half the people had not survived the voyage. The ship wa riddled with Cholera and Typhus and these carried many of the weakest off, and their only grave was the sea, with only the fish to know of their resting place and the keening of the seabirds, their only lament.
I cannot forgive the cruelty of that awful day, what had we done that we should have been judged so harshly.

The above are the reminiscences of Niall Aslem's Great Grandmother.

COPYRIGHT. Niall U'Aislainn ( Niall Aslem) 1999=2004

I think this was a very clever piece of poitical strategy, and really blew her tormentors out the water.

NICOLA Sturgeon stunned the Scottish Parliament this afternoon by making a full and frank apology for lobbying a court on behalf of a convicted fraudster, asking him to be spared jail.

The Deputy First Minister caught the Scottish Parliament by surprise by saying “sorry” for the way she dealt with the case of Abdul Rauf, a constituent convicted of £80,000 of fraud against the Department of Work and Pensions.

Ms Sturgeon’s decision to apologise killed off the controversy completely, stripping her opponents of any ammunition they might have wanted to use against her.

Indeed, so effective was Ms Sturgeon’s apology that Iain Gray, the Scottish Labour leader, Annabel Goldie, the Scottish Conservative leader and Robert Brown, for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, were left trying to chase Alex Salmond for his remarks on the issue from two weeks ago.

The Health Secretary said she still believed she had been right to write a letter in support of Rauf but she had been wrong to go as far as she did, admitting she had made mistakes in the choice of language she used and the plea she made for him to be spared jail.

She told MSPs: “I assisted a constituent in good faith and for what I considered to be the right reasons but, in doing so, I did get some things wrong and for that I am sorry.

“With hindsight, I think I allowed myself to be too influenced by the likely impact of Mr Rauf’s actions on his family and that led me to write a letter that was not as carefully worded as it should have been.”

Ms Sturgeon added: “I regret the use of the word ‘mistake’ to describe Mr Rauf’s offence. As I hope will be clear from other parts of the letter, I did not intend in any way to downplay the seriousness of the crime that had been committed.

“However, I accept that the use of the word ‘mistake’ was open to that interpretation.

“Also, having drawn the court’s attention to Mr Rauf’s personal circumstances, I should have left it there. I should not have gone on to specifically ask the court to consider alternatives to custody.”

Ms Sturgeon said the last two weeks had not been easy, with opposition parties calling for her resignation and dismissal from office.

And she added: “My reflections over the past few days have made me wonder whether a more general willingness to allow each other space to reflect on honest mistakes, admit where we’ve got things wrong and learn lessons wouldn’t be much better for our politics than the instant judgement that all of us, me included, so often rush to.”

Ms Sturgeon’s decision to apologise for the way she wrote the letter and her appeal for more honesty, openness and acceptance of mistakes in politics caught her opponents off guard.

There had been signals from Scottish Government sources that Ms Sturgeon was “going to come out fighting” and was not going to apologise.

But her decision to take the opposite tack left her opponents with nothing to attack.

Mr Gray, who had called for her to go, was left asking Ms Sturgeon to withdraw the letter – a far cry from the angry statements he made two weeks ago.

Ms Goldie and Mr Brown both praised Ms Sturgeon for taking the decision to apologise and both turned their attention to the First Minister, who had claimed two weeks ago that MSPs had an “absolute obligation” to lobby for their constituents.

But as Mr Salmond was not making a statement and was not answering questions, those attacks did not hit home.

Saying “sorry” is not something that politicians do very often. It is often seen as a sign of weakness and spin doctors tend to caution against it.

But, when politicians do say “sorry”, as Ms Sturgeon did today, the effect can be startling. It certainly worked for Ms Sturgeon.

Not only did she bury this controversy but she enhanced her reputation, giving the impression that she is one of the only honest politicians at Holyrood.

It helped that this issue was about judgement and not about breaking any rules. Ms Sturgeon could not have got away with a simple apology had she broken any rules but she had not done so.

In this case it worked, very well indeed.

It is understood that Ms Sturgeon has been working on this statement for the past week with a dedicated team of advisers and helpers. For once, that advice and help appears to have paid off.

The Testimony of Seonaid Nic Nicail....................................Copyright Niall Aslem 1999-2004

His Great Gtrandmother's story.

WHEN i was about 5 years of age, just one year after my fater came back from the war against the Russians, the whole township was warned by the factor, at the time of paying the rents, that his 'Lordship' was wanting the people to move away from the township in order that his Lordship could lt out the ground to shepherds from the Lowlands. The menfolk did not believe that they would have to move, as there was plenty of groound where the sheep could graze.
However, two months later, a notice (in English) was posted, requiring the inhabitants to remove themselves, their goods and their chattels within one month.
A visiting priest translated the notice into the Gaidhlig for them, but the menfolk still did not nelieve that his Lordship would cast them out into the depth of winter. Three months went past without anything being done by the Factor and the people of the township relaxed. There had been rumours of 'Terrible Doings' elsewhere of people being turned out and the roof trees of the houses being detroyed, but this was ' elsewhere'
Suddenly in the month of January, the factor turned up, accompanied by a large number of policemen from Glasgow, Lowland estate workers and Sheriff Officers from Dunedin and told the people of the township to be out of the homes by dawn on the following day, when they would be taken to Ullapol to be put on board a ship to the Americas (Nove Scotia.)
The men folk were cast down (in modern parlance, shattered), and only the women folk made any protests. A group of them went to the factor to protest and were savagely beaten up by the policemen's batons and boots, my Mother amongst them. She came home pale faced and shocked before bursting into tears.
After a long, sleepless niht, the dawn came, hardly anyone had moved their possessions out. We waited with real fear and drad to see what would happen next. An hour after dawn, the factor and his men went to the house of Eachunn MacLeoid, a widower of 86 years of age, thrust him out of his house, and proceeded to throw his chattels out of the door. Then two men with axes cut throught the rooftrees causing the roof to collapse. They then piled winter forage inside the door and put a torch to it. Witin a few minutes, a pall of smoke had rolled through the township, causing panic, as people raced to save their few things before the factor's men arrived..
Our house was next, my mother tried to stop the men entering the door. They called us "Irish Filth" and other evil words which I will not repeat. Without warnig, one of them floored her with a mighty punch to the head and laid her out senseless on the floor. My father tried to protect her despite havig only one arm, but he too was punched and kicked senseless to the floor by four of the policemen.
My brothers and I managed to drag our parents out of the house and by the time we got them outside, the axemen had already cut through the rooftrees. They then set fire tp the house and went next to the house of my uncle Coinneach. I remembered that my doll was on our bed. It was a precious thing that my father had brought back from the war. A rag body with a lovely China head which my mother had sewn clothes for, I ran into the house to get it, through choking smoke. I could not breathe, choking and coughing in the foul yellow smoke, but I could not find it. My eyes were streamig with tears and I fell over things as I tried to get out. Then my brother, Aonghas beag came after me and dragged me outside.
It was like the pictures of Hell I once saw in the Minister's Bible, smoke and flames everywhere and yuo caould hardly see in fromt of your face. My motheer was kneeling dazedly by my father, cradling his bloodstained head and sobbing for the things that had befallen her family and the loss of her few precious things.
Some terrible things occurred after this. The policemen and factor's men were reeking of whisky before they started, and when they found the whisky from Uncle Coinneach's 'Poit Dubh', theevil got worse. They were like demons, taking delight in smashing some of the chattels which had been salvaged, punching and beating anyone who got in their way, even small children were not spared.
Then at the house of Eibhlin and Aoirig MhicNeacaill, Uunmaried orphan cousins of my Father) the two girlsm aged only 14 and 17, were forcibly taken by some of the the policemen, who did not spare their tender years and ravaged them. Their screams brought many of the menfolk to their aid, but by this time the policemen were the devils themselves and they laid into the menfolk with their batons and clubs.
One man, Aoirig's intended, tried to stop them by firing at them with a charged folwlin piece, without avail. He was clubbed to the ground, senseless, then bound hand and foot, after which they took turns to kick him in the ribs and stomach for pure sport. All the time they were screaming insilts, like 'Pig Shit' and 'Irish Bastards.'
Poor man, he was left out all night, bound and cold, dying sometime in the night from an efflux of blood from the mouth. After this, the spirit went from us, and the menfolk were saying it was a visitation upon us bythe Almighty in punishment for our sins, and that we should not resist further.
During the night, Eibhlin and Aoirig hanged themelves for the shame of what had been done to them, and the bodies were buried in the garden plot by our menfolkl, without a minister present, and even then, the policemen showed their loathing of us by passing water over the girl's bodies.

To be continued.

Forget “it’s Scotland’s oil”, how about a new slogan for the election: “it’s the Falkland Islands’ oil”?

With the row over exploration for oil in the South Atlantic gathering pace, the SNP couldn’t resist putting out a release today pointing out the good deal that the Falkland Islanders have negotiated if any oil is found in the waters surrounding the islands.

The Nationalists do make an intriguing point. They point out that the Falkland Island authorities have negotiated a deal giving the local community 9 per cent of royalties on every barrel found, the equivalent, apparently of 21-26 per cent of all profits.

The SNP’s Treasury spokesman Stewart Hosie points out that both the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland have similar deals in place but, of course, Scotland does not.

He said: “Scotland ’s oil and gas industry is the only thing keeping the London Treasury afloat – over the next six years, £50 billion worth of North Sea revenues will flow to the London exchequer. That alone represents over £20,000 for every household in Scotland.”

With some reports suggesting that the South Atlantic fields could be large enough to pay off the UK’s national debt, it is no wonder that the SNP would dearly love Scotland to be in the position the Falkland Islands finds itself now.

Except, of course, it is unlikely to be quite so keen to have the UK Government riding to its rescue with ships and planes to defend its status as a British colony…

Any visitor to the Isle of Skye will know to pack wet weather and walking gear in preparation for tackling the spectacular mountains that the island is known for. But how many would remember to pack a torch?

Yet, if you do, and you take proper care with tides, then there is a whole other side of Skye that is not only interesting to view, but involve some of the island’s most intriguing legends.

The story of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s escape through the Highlands, chased by Government troops is well known. Who hasn’t imagined him dressed in the servant’s dress that Flora MacDonald made him wear in order to smuggle him to the island from South Uist? Once there he moved around for several days staying in the homes of people sympathetic to the Jacobite cause. However, the hunt was closing in and he retreated to a cave in Elgol where he spent his last nights on Scottish soil.

In the right conditions you can visit it and walk in the footsteps of the King that might have been.

All across Skye caves feature in oral histories and legends, and the issue of whether they are true, slightly true, or just myths is rarely resolved. Geoff Holder, whose book The Guide to Mysterious Skye & Lochalsh is out next month, has his own way of looking at these tales. He believes that the 19th century writing down of oral stories has resulted in “what was once history turning into legend” – although he is equally happy to consider that the opposite could also be said to be true.

Once such story is found in the rather long-windedly titled “Craig Phadric: Visions of Sensibility, Legendary Tales and Occasional Pieces” written by David Carey in 1811. Amongst other charming tales he relates the story of the Nursling Cave in Sleat, southern Skye.

The story focuses on a 9th century clan chief’s daughter, Dounhuila. As was often the case, the clans were at war so when a boat carrying the young chief of Colonsay was ship-wrecked his life-expectancy was not good. Having survived the storm, he could expect death at the hands of rival clansmen.

Fortunately for him he was found by Dounhuila, lying on the beach. Guarded by his dog, the young chief was the only survivor from the wreck. Dounhuila kept him safe and nursed him back to health. Rather inevitably they formed more than a friendship, or in the words of the 19th century book: “With a form of exquisite symmetry, yet with simple manners and an unsuspicious heart, and more the victim of love than the child of prudence, she became pregnant.”

This was a dangerous situation for them both. Dounhuila quickly effected her lover’s escape. She then gave birth and secreted the child in a nearby cave, watched over by some loyal servants and the young chief’s ever-faithful dog. She visited the cave frequently to nurse the baby – hence the name. This story, though, has a suitably fairy-tale ending, as the families were reconciled and the two allowed to wed.

The cave, more often known as The Spar Cave, was later immortalised by Sir Walter Scott, who rather fancifully wondered whether a mermaid played in one of the pools. If you visit it now, the cave is dark and less impressive as it once was. Scores of Victorian visitors have taken their toll, snapping off pieces of stalagmites and blackening the ceiling with torches.

A cave near the north of the island in Duirinish is known locally as Uamh A’Choinnleir – or the Cave of the Candlestick. The name could have derived from the need of a candlestick to light the way, or because of its situation in a very dramatic landscape, close to the sea-stacs of the three Macleod Maidens. It was in this cave that the unfortunate wife of James Erskine lived out her dying days in around 1745. She had enjoyed a rowdy lifestyle in Edinburgh, but had caused problems for her Jacobite-sympathiser husband with her loose tongue.

Fearful that she was about to reveal his involvement with the Jacobites, he arranged for her disappearance, and whilst he hosted a lavish burial at Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, had her transported to numerous Highland homes before eventually settling her on St Kilda where she lived for 15 years. She was eventually brought to Skye, and imprisoned in the Cave of the Candlestick. Here, it is said, she lost her mind, and only then, when she was no threat to anyone was she finally allowed her freedom.

Once more, mystery surrounds her burial place, as it has been said that a coffin was buried with sods and stones in Dunvegan churchyard whilst her body itself was buried in nearby Trumpan church. With her empty coffin in Greyfriars she must make be one of the most buried women in Scotland.

The likelihood of a Dutch pullout from Afghanistan, brought about by the collapse of the coalition government at the weekend, couldn’t have come at a worse time for NATO forces as they push ahead with their offensive against the Taliban in the Marjah region of Helmand province.

Breaking ranks over a deeply unpopular war may make sound sense in the context of Dutch domestic politics but the move has raised fears that other countries might follow suit, further weakening Western resolve in Afghanistan.

Opinion polls show the Dutch Labour Party, which walked out of the government on Saturday, has the support of the electorate on the troops issue. Dutch voters seem to be baying for Christian Democratic Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende’s head after he tried to persuade the Labour Party to agree to a scaled-back Dutch presence after the scheduled August departure date.

A general election, probably in May or June, now looks inevitable; local elections are scheduled for March 3.

Though there are only 2,000 Dutch troops in Afghanistan, 1,500 of them are deployed in Uruzgan province, an opium and Taliban recruitment centre. The Dutch were sent to Uruzgan, which borders Helmand, in 2006 and were to have stayed for two years, but the mandate was extended another two years to August this year.

There was a further setback today in NATO’s attempt to win over the local populace in Uzurgan when 33 civilians were killed in a NATO air strike. “We are extremely saddened by the tragic loss of innocent lives,” General Stanley McChrystal, the US commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, said. “I have made it clear to our forces that we are here to protect the Afghan people and inadvertently killing or injuring civilians undermines their trust and confidence in our mission.”

Australia, which has 1,500 troops in Uruzgan, told the US and NATO today that it was not prepared to pick up the slack left by the Dutch if they leave. Australia joined the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 under former Prime Minister John Howard. But the war is unpopular in Australia, and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has refused to join the US “surge” in Helmand. The defence minister, John Faulkner, has said he is working towards ending the Australian presence in Afghanistan as soon as possible.

A poll taken in June last year by the Pew Research Centre showed voters in 18 of 25 countries want the US and NATO troops to withdraw from Afghanistan as soon as possible.

Holding protest banners and singing hymns, the small group demonstrating outside a US military base looked like any other that has protested American involvement in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But a closer look at their banners revealed that this is not a typical group of peace protesters: “God Hates Fags” read one hand-made sign. “God Sent The Quake,” another one read. “You Will Eat Your Babies,” another.

The group chanted a slogan against abortion doctors. Anti-Jewish chants came next.Then a chorus of “You Will Never Win,” aimed at the military installation.

Across the street, another group waving American flags protested the protesters. A small police contingent was present on both sides of the street, which overlooks the Seal Beach Naval Base in Southern California.

The Westboro Baptist Church group from Topeka, Kansas, has made national and international headlines by protesting at the funerals of American troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Its website www.godhatesfags.com is filled with shrill invective aimed at Israel, the Obama administration, abortion doctors and clinics, and homosexuals. It says the group has held more than 47,000 protests across the US since its founding in 1955.

The church is considered a hate group. Members of its founding family were banned from traveling to Britain last year. Over the weekend the Westboro group also picketed a secondary school, a Jewish temple and a reggae festival (the group decried dancehall artist Shaggy, who has spoken out against homophobic lyrics in Jamaican music).

I was here to find out why a group would spout hate at a military funeral, or a school or temple.

But also, for my own personal irony file, to find out why the church demonised the existence of certain groups that it believed were necessary for their saviour’s return.

Rebekah Phelps-Davis, 49, a lawyer and the daughter of the church’s founder, Fred Phelps, told the Caledonian Mercury that US president “Beast Obama” soon will sink America and the world into fiery chaos, out of which their lord and saviour, Jesus Christ, will return.

The claim is based on a view of Biblical prophesy common to US evangelical groups but that the Kansas church has fitted into its unique worldview. Phelps smiled with pride as she held two signs that read: “The Jews Killed Jesus,” and “God Hates Israel.”

Phelps said: “Obama is the antichrist, he’s going to take this nation down as a stepping stone for him as he wants to be king of the world. It’s in the Bible that this must happen before our lord returns.

“We went to a high school and told those little brute beasts what they need to hear. Those children are the walking dead, headed for hell because the parents weren’t satisfied in going to hell themselves. I blame the children when they reach the age where they can choose between good and evil. At whatever age for that person. They have a duty to search the scriptures daily and obey God.

“The United States military needs to be told early and often that God is their No 1 enemy. They tell them that God loves everyone and that it’s OK to be gay, but God is killing the fruit of his womb because they have refused to obey the commandment of God. The fags run the military, the fags run the government.

“Britain is just as doomed as America. The British government banning Westboro Baptist Church did as much to deliver the message of God to that wicked and perverse nation as we ever could have done if we got in.”

Why protest a temple? “The Jews killed Jesus. Jesus was a Jew. So they are the the biggest anti-Semites that ever existed. They are doomed.”

She said no group or institution worldwide is considered “good” by the Westboro church. “Priests rape boys,” she said.

Phelps said the group has been ostracised by its home community but enjoys its pariah status.

“These are the promises of God being fulfilled on this earth. It’s a good thing for the elect of God, because the ultimate end of it is the return of our saviour and power and glory. But we’re going to tell you, early and often, that’s where the path of sin and fornication has to end.”

The counter-protesters, aged between 14 and 20, with some of them serving in the forces, traveled from suburbs of Los Angeles in a fleet of six pick-up trucks displaying large American flags. The group’s spokesman, Nick Zimmerman, says the group flies the Stars and Stripes as the Kansas church group often displays it inverted, which he says is an insult to the country and military.

“It’s all over our duty to stand up for the United States. I have no problem them protesting at another church but they shouldn’t protest soldiers’ funerals. Soldiers went over and died for their right to freedom of speech, their right to protest.”