History, Wonder Tales, Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends The Flemish | Page 90

borders were now "the heart of the country" and that "no supply should be given to all
rebels and disorderly persons, their wives or their bairnes (children) and that they be
prosecuted with fire and sword". Under the rule of James' the domination of the
Reivers was finally swept away. Severe measures were now pursued to enforce the
law and there was, after centuries of disorder a will to see that the law was enforced.
Wanted men were hunted down and executed. They were now subject to 'Jeddart
Justice' which was summary execution without trial. All Borderers were forbidden to
carry weapons and they could only own horses of a value up to 50 shillings. Deprived
of their basic reiving equipment, all unlawful activities ceased. Reiving families were
dispossessed of their lands. Their homes were destroyed and the people scattered or
were deported.

Leaving Scotland
Migration accelerated for several reasons during this period, principally economic and
religious. The violent period of the two Civil Wars and the Cromwell era sent many
Rutherfords abroad, first to the continent to fight for religious causes and eventually to
Ireland and the Commonwealth at large. Immigration to Ireland began in the early
1600s. The Ulster Plantation brought thousands of Scottish Presbyterians to Ulster.
When Charles I sought to impose his preferred style of worship and doctrines upon
the Church of Scotland, a protest movement arose which culminated in the signing of
a National Covenant in 1638. The Solemn League and Covenant was a pledge to
maintain a reformed church throughout the British Isles and was agreed to by the
governments of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1643. The new settlers maintained
links with their relatives and co-religionists in Scotland. In fact, when William of
Orange came to Ireland in 1690 many of his troops were Scots who had been serving
in the Dutch Scots-Brigade loyal to the House of Orange.
Among the leading Scottish Covenanters of the day was Rev. Dr. Samuel Rutherford,
a member of the Hunthill cadet of the Clan Rutherfurd. He was born near NisbetCrailing in Roxburghshire and started his education in the family church at Jedburgh
Abbey. He played a prominent role in the Westminster Assembly, which brought forth
the "Westminster Confession of Faith" and its catechisms. He also wrote a book called
"Lex Rex" ("The Law Is King"), whose principles greatly influenced the English
philosopher John Locke. Followers of Rutherford and Locke include such notable
figures in the United States as Rev. John Witherspoon, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin
Franklin, and James Madison. The principles of Rutherford and Locke, such as having
a system of checks and balances between three different branches of government,
formed the foundation of American democracy. It was General George Washington,
who said: "If defeated everywhere else, I will make my stand for liberty among the
Scots-Irish in my native Virginia".
The fundamental causes for the Scots migration from Ireland were economic.
Repressive trade laws, rack-renting landlordism, famine, and the decline of the linen
industry were major factors in stimulating the overseas movement of the Scots-Irish or
Ulster Scots. The loss of the United States was a great blow to the British Empire and
changed the migratory paths of Rutherfords who were yet to leave Britain from 1776
onward. In the 18th and 19th centuries Canada, New Zealand and Australia became
the Rutherford destinations rather than the USA. "The sun never set on the British
Empire" and even far away Egypt, South Africa and India saw Rutherford military

90