split the English political class between those who wanted to 'exclude' James from the throne, or Whigs, and their opponents, or Tories. He had greater support in Scotland but Lauderdale resigned in 1680 after voting for the execution of Viscount Stafford, one of those falsely condemned by the Popish Plot. In 1681, James became Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland and created a Scottish support base including the Drummonds, Queensberry and Hamilton. With their help, the Scottish Parliament passed the 1681 Test Act. This required government officers to swear unconditional loyalty to the monarch, 'regardless of religion'; but with the crucial qualifier they also 'promise to uphold the true Protestant religion.' Melfort was appointed Treasurer-Depute of Scotland in 1682, then joint Secretary of State, Scotland in 1684, with his brother as Lord Chancellor. The 1638-1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms meant many feared the consequences of bypassing James and he became king with widespread support in all three kingdoms, England, Scotland and Ireland. In England and Scotland, this assumed he did nothing to weaken the Protestant Church of England and Church of Scotland and it was a short-term issue, not the prelude to a Catholic dynasty. In 1685, James was 52, his second marriage was childless after 14 years and the heirs were his Protestant daughters, Mary and Anne. These were increasingly challenged in the years leading up to the crisis of June 1688 and Melfort bears much of the responsibility. The brothers effectively ruled Scotland but after 1684, most of their time was spent in London and disconnected them from political developments there. As a result, James often pursued policies in Scotland based on information either out of date or wrong, most significantly that acceptance of his personal beliefs did not extend to Catholicism in general. His 'tolerance' measures were badly timed, particularly when the October 1685 Edict of Fontainebleau revoked it for French Huguenots, reinforcing fears Protestant Europe was threatened by a French-led Catholic counter-reformation. Converting to Catholicism in 1685 meant the Drummonds further isolated themselves, while backing policies that undermined support for James; even moderate Catholics were concerned by these. The religious divides of the 17th century meant many Scots saw concessions as potentially destabilising, which resulted in the rapid collapse of the 1685 Argyll and Monmouth Rebellions. In 1686, the Scottish Parliament was suspended and Queensberry forced from office after refusing to back 'tolerance'