of his power until he gave proofs of a real change in his conduct; and that an effectual course ought to be taken for preventing "his conjunction with the malignant party", and for investigating into the cause of his late flight; and that the malignants should be rendered incapable in future of hurting the work and people of God. A petition was presented to the Committee of Estates on the 19 November, requiring a satisfactory answer to the first remonstrance. On 25 November, a joint declaration was issued by the King and the Committee. They declared that "the said paper, as it related to the parliament and civil judicatories, to be scandalous and injurious to his majesty's person, and prejudicial to his authority"; and the commission of the General Assembly having been required to give their opinion upon the remonstrance, in so far as it related to religion and church judicatories, acknowledged that, although it contained "many sad truths in relation to the sins charged upon the king, his family, and the public judicatories", which they were "resolved to hold out, and press upon them in a right and orderly, way", together with such other sins as by impartial search, and the help of the Lord's Spirit, on their endeavours therein, they should find, nevertheless, the commission declared itself dissatisfied with the remonstrance, which it considered "apt to breed division in kirk and kingdom". Aftermath The declaration of the commission of the General Assembly was not only approved of by the General Assembly, but what was of equal importance, the General Assembly passed a resolution declaring that in such a perilous crisis all Scotsmen might be employed to defend their country (and so giving support to the annulment of the Act of Classes (1649) which had impeded Engagers and Royalists from joining in the resistance to the English Invasion). An exception for persons "excommunicated, forfeited, notoriously profane, or flagitious, and professed enemies and opposers of the covenant and cause of God", was no doubt made, but this exemption did not exclude all the "malignants". The rescinding of the Act of Classes took effect on 13 August 1650. Gillespie and other Remonstraters protested against the General Assembly resolution, and when the General Assembly met in July 1651 they protested against its legality. For this he and two others were deposed from the ministry. They and their sympathisers disregarded the sentence, and