James was sent to Edinburgh in 1681 as Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland; over the next two years, he established a Scottish Court Party, a mixture of Catholics like the Earl of Melfort and Dumbarton, plus supportive Protestants such as his brother, the Duke of Hamilton. In August 1681, the Scottish Parliament passed the Succession Act, which confirmed the divine right of kings, the rights of the natural heir 'regardless of religion,' the duty of all to swear allegiance to that king and the independence of the Scottish Crown. However, tolerance for personal Catholicism did not extend to Catholicism in general; the 1681 Scottish Test Act also required all public officials and MPs to swear unconditional loyalty to the King but with the crucial qualifier they 'promise to uphold the true Protestant religion.'