Editing Massacre of Glencoe (section)

==Investigation==
On 12 April 1692, the ''Paris Gazette'' published a copy of Glenlyon's orders, allegedly found in an [[Edinburgh]] tavern and taken to France.{{sfn|Levine|1999|p=143}} Despite criticism of the government, there was little sympathy for the MacDonalds, Livingstone writing ''it's not that anyone thinks the thieving tribe did not deserve to be destroyed, but that it should have been done by those quartered amongst them makes a great noise.''{{sfn|Prebble|1973|p=198}} The motivation for investigating the affair was largely political; having served in the old and new regimes, Stair was unpopular with supporters of both.{{sfn|Levine|1999|p=141}}

[[File:Moord op de gebroeders De Witt, door Pieter Frits (1627-1708).jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.0|The killing of the De Witt brothers, 1672; the Massacre was first mentioned in a broadsheet accusing William of their murder]]

In the debate that followed, Colonel Hill claimed most Highlanders were peaceful, and even in Lochaber, {{lang|sco|a single person may travell safley where he will witout harme.}} He argued lawlessness was deliberately encouraged by leaders like Glengarry, while ''the midle sort of Gentrey and Commons....never got anything but hurt from it.'' The 1693 Highland Judicial Commission encouraged using the law to resolve issues like cattle theft, but the clan chiefs opposed it as reducing control over their tenants.{{sfn|Kennedy|2017|pp=32–60}}

The issue appeared settled until the English [[Licensing of the Press Act 1662]] expired in May 1695. The result was a huge increase in the number of political pamphlets published in London, among them ''Gallienus Redivivus, or Murther will out, &c. Being a true Account of the De Witting of Glencoe, Gaffney''. Written by Jacobite activist [[Charles Leslie (nonjuror)|Charles Leslie]], it focused on William's alleged complicity in the 1672 death of [[Johan de Witt]], with Glencoe and other crimes as secondary charges.{{sfn|Frank|1983|pp=103–115}}

A Commission was set up to determine whether there was a case to answer under 'Slaughter under trust', a Scottish act introduced in 1587 to reduce endemic feuding. The law applied to murder committed in "cold-blood", when articles of surrender had been agreed, or hospitality accepted.{{sfn|Harris|2015|pp=53–54}} It was first used in 1588 against [[Lachlan Mor Maclean]], whose objections to his mother's second marriage led him to murder his new stepfather, John MacDonald, and 18 members of the wedding party. Interpretation varied, such as in the cases of James MacDonald, who locked his parents in their house before setting it on fire in 1597, and the killing of prisoners after the 1647 [[Battle of Dunaverty]]. Both were deemed to have been committed in "hot blood", and thus excluded.{{sfn|Levine|1999|p=129}}

As a capital offence and treason, it was an awkward weapon with which to attack Stair, since William himself signed the orders, and the intent was widely known in government circles. The Commission instead considered whether participants had exceeded orders, not their legality, and concluded Stair and Hamilton had a case to answer, but left the decision to William.{{sfn|Somers|1843|p=545}} While Stair was dismissed as Secretary of State, he returned to government in 1700 and was made an earl by the last Stuart monarch, [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]].{{sfn|Hopkins|1998 |p=395}} An application by the survivors for compensation was ignored; they rebuilt their houses, and participated in the 1715 and 1745 Jacobite risings.{{sfn|Prebble|1973|p=214}} An [[Survey (archaeology)|archaeological survey]] in 2019 showed Glencoe was occupied until the [[Highland Clearances]] of the mid-18th century.{{sfn|MacDonald}}