THE PRESBYTERIAN CONUNDRUM

In 1558, John Knox published in Geneva a book entitled, 'The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women.' This was a clear broadside against Mary Tudor, whom Protestants named 'Bloody Mary,' even though she killed less Protestants than her father or even John Calvin did! Rather unfortunately, Knox did not differentiate between Catholic women and Protestant women. Instead he railed against any kind of female ruler, quoting the Bible at length to prove his point that men should not be ruled by a woman. As events turned out he would have been better saying nothing at all.

Mary Tudor died prematurely and was succeeded by her half-sister, Elizabeth. When their brother, Edward VI had been on the throne, Knox had been a leading light in the Church of England, helping to direct it on a Reformed path. Any chance that he might do the same under Elizabeth was blown out of the water by his ill-conceived book. Elizabeth, like her father, was a firm believer in the divine right of monarchs and no jumped-up ex-priest was going to change her mind!

Elizabeth was in rather a precarious position. The Pope had condemned her as a bastard and not entitled to the throne of England. He had made it clear that Catholics in England were not obliged to obey her and would not be condemned for getting rid of her. This had the effect of making English Catholics automatically untrustworthy and potentially traitorous. Unfortunately, Knox's book was equally a threat to Elizabeth and Presbyterians were viewed with just as much suspicion as Catholics.

This distrust of Presbyterians continued into the Stuart dynasty. There was an attempt to bring the Scottish Church to heel and to bring the churches of both countries under the Episcopalian mantle of the Church of England. Of course, the Presbyterians resisted this. Many were sent out of the way to the 17th Century equivalent of Botany Bay: Ulster.

These Presbyterians fared no better in Ulster, having no rights in law unless they submitted to the authority of the Anglican Church of Ireland. And then came 1690. The Catholic James II raised an army in Ireland to win back his throne from William of Orange. When he attacked Ulster every man was needed and the Scottish Presbyterians were there to stand against him and defeat him.

Of course, when the emergency was over, these Presbyterians were no longer needed and went back to their old position of being persecuted. Many of them fled to America to escape this persecution, their descendants living in America to this day.

They were needed again in the 19th Century when Irish Nationalism gradually became predominantly Catholic. By the end of the century they were being courted by the likes of Joseph Chamberlain, who saw Gladstone's proposed Home Rule Bill as threatening his dreams of empire.

The Presbyterians were needed yet again when Home Rule was once more on the agenda under Asquith's pre-First World War government. This time they were needed to fight again and arms were smuggled to them from Germany of all places!

After the war, when Irish independence came into being, the Presbyterians were relied upon to provide a majority when Ulster was gerrymandered into  six counties to ensure Protestant rule. Since then they were encouraged to see themselves as 'the masters' in the province, while their cousins in Scotland were encouraged to support them with their drums, flutes and sashes and by voting for the Conservative and Unionist Party.

In modern times things have changed a bit. The Establishment became embarrassed by the rampant bigotry shown by Ulster Presbyterians and there has been a lot of work to achieve some kind of equality and power sharing. Also, voting in Scotland tended to be along class lines, rather than religious; a fact acknowledged when the 'Unionist' element was dropped from the Conservative Party's name.

There remains, however, a hard core of these Scottish Presbyterians, both in Scotland and Northern Ireland, who are opposed to any changes. The call to arms has gone out again. The old name has been dusted off and David Cameron was to be seen recently beside a background poster that read, 'Conservative and Unionist Party.' Of course, as they have always done, the hard core of these Presbyterians have heeded the call.

Why are they needed this time? The threat comes from next year's vote on Scottish independence. And if you don't believe me abut how these people are being used then take a look at some blogs ostensibly devoted to Rangers. Day in, day out, there are folk on these blogs claiming that the call for Scottish independence is a Catholic conspiracy. Just as on every occasion in history, those in charge know exactly which buttons to press to manipulate these people.

So a call to the Presbyterians of this country. Are you going to think for yourselves or are you going to let yourselves be used as you have always done? Look back and see what rewards you received for your compliance in the past: none! Let's forget any supposed religious aspects to this vote and decide purely on practical and pragmatic grounds.

Vote YES.