From what we have said of the Assembly, the inference as to the Parliament is clear. It follows that its history between the year of Queen Mary's return and the day when Andrew Melville addressed King James in the words we have quoted is one rather of retrogression than of progress; nor did it, at any subsequent period, overawe the General Assembly. Further than this point we cannot go in any detail. The history of Scotland between 1567 and 1707 is so intricate, and has been so thoroughly expounded, that only a brief concluding sketch is necessary in a thesis of the present nature, however essential to a constitutional history of Scotland. In 1560 it was, to some extent, a free parliament, as Knox said, and it could claim to represent popular opinion. During the reign of Mary, as we have already seen, it relapsed into its old position of ratifying the acts of the privy council. Nor was the Parliament which met in December, 1567, while the hapless queen was spending at Lochleven her first year of captivity, in much better case. The country was divided between "king's men" and "queen's men." The Estates did what Murray and Morton wished to be done. There is one provision which, though in conformity with Murray's views, does not bear the impress of his hand. It reminds us that the author of the _First Blaste against the Monstrous Regiment of Women_ was present as an assessor in the Parliament when we read: "Als it is thocht expedient that in na tymes cuming ony wemen sal be admittit to the publict autoritie of the realme or functioun in publict government within the same." It was not a deliberate attempt to alter the succession: it was merely an additional illustration of bad feeling towards the captive queen.[121] Until the "Black Acts" there is little in the proceedings of the Parliament which calls for remark. The meetings were largely occupied with the usual sentences of forfeiture. Sometimes the queen's party held rival parliaments, and on such occasions everybody in Scotland of any importance was declared a traitor by one side or the other. A considerable amount of valuable work was done. Murray, whatever his personal character, was a statesman, and he left the impression of "a still strong man" upon those who survived him. His policy and that of his successors was guided by their dependence upon Elizabeth and by their associations with the Assembly. Parliament was largely occupied with the settlement of the Church, but it found time to regulate matters of police and trade. The influence of the Assembly continued to be paramount till 1584, when, for the first time, King James was able to assert his personality. The "Black Acts" of that year included a declaration of the king's royal power over all subjects, the supremity of Parliament, the illegality of conventions or assemblies not sanctioned by the king, and the subjection of ministers of the Church to the civil courts. No weight whatever