[1706/10/402]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
At Edinburgh, the twenty first day of March, jM vijC and seven years. Our soveraigne lady, with the speciall advice and consent of the estates of parliament, ratifies, approves and perpetually confirmes a chartor under the great seall of the date at Kensington, the eighteenth day of February last, granted by her majestie, with consent of the lords and others commissioners of her thesaury and exchequer, in prosecution of ane act of parliament dated the tenth day of the said month of February, dissolving from the crown the earledom of Orkney and lordship of Zetland, and others after mentioned, in favors of James, earle of Mortoun and his heirs male whatsoever succeeding to his honor and dignitie, which failying to his heirs and assigneyes whatsoever heretablie, of all and haill the said earledom of Orkney and lordship of Zetland lying in the kingdom of Scotland, with all and sundrie lands, lordships, regalities, baronies, isles, castles, touers, fortalices, manner places, houses, biggings, yeards, orchyeards, parks, fences, inclosures, milns, milnlands, multures, knaveships, woods, fishings, as well of salmond as other fishes in fresh and salt waters, liberties, grassums, forentries, touns, brughs, annualrents, fermes, fewfermes and dueties, togither with all and sundrie lands called udal lands lying within the said earledom, lordship and isles of the same, with all and sundrie priviledges, casualities and commodities whatsoever pertaining thereto, as well by sea as land, with tenents, tenendries, service of free tenents, as well in landwart as within burgh, teinds great and small, personage and viccarage teinds, dueties, advocationes, donationes and rights of patronage of the kirks, chaplanries, alterages and prebendries within the said earledom and lordship, isles, udall lands and others pertaining thereto, togither also with the heretable offices of justiciary, shirifship or steuartrie, baillierie and foudry within the said earledom, lordship, isles and others above written belonging thereto, with wrack and ware, and all and sundrie priviledges, liberties, fees, casualities and other commodities whatsoever pertaining to the said offices of justiciary, shirifship or steuartrie, balliarie and foudry, or any of them, with full power to the said James, earle of Morton and his foresaids of appointing, affixing, fencing, holding and continuing courts of justiciary, shirifship or steuartrie, bailiary and feudry at whatsoever place or places within the haill bounds of the foresaid earledom, lordship, isles, lands and others above mentioned most fitt for that effect, and of making, creating and appointing justiciars, shirifs or steuarts, bailies and fouuds and their deputs with clerks, procurator fiscals, officers, serjants, dempsters and all other necessar members of court for holding the said courts of justiciary, shiriff or steuart courts and courts of bailiary and feudry, within the haill bounds of the said earledom, lordship, isles, lands and others above written perteining thereto, and of doing all other things requisite and necessar thereanent, sicklike and als freely, in all respects, as any other justiciar, shirif, stewart, bailie or fouud within the said kingdom of Scotland, or the said islands of Orkney and Zetland have done, or may do, by vertue of their said offices at any time bygone or to come, and siclike of her majesties' right of the feufermes and other dueties, casualities and services of all and sundrie the heretable vassals and others within the said earledom, lordship, isles, lands and others above mentioned, with full and only power to the said James, earle of Morton and his foresaids, in her majesties' name, yet remaining superior to enter and receave the said heretable vassals who now actually hold of her majestie and her croun and their heirs, and to grant charters and infeftments to any person or persons of the said earldom, lordship, isles, lands and others above written, or any pairt of the same, upon the resignation or disposition of the said vassalls or decreets of sale, apprysing or adjudication from them, and that either by confirmation or charters containing precepts of seasine, and to intromett with, uplift and dispose upon all and sundrie the casualities of the said vassalls already vacant or not disposed of, or which shall happen in all time coming to fall and become vacant, by simple or liferent escheat, ward, nonentrie, recognition or any other way whatsoever, without prejudice alwayes to the said earle and his foresaids of the superiorities and haill casualities of all such vassals and others as formerly held of the earle of Orkney, and which do not now hold of her majestie. And also, with full and absolute libertie to the said vassals which now hold of her majestie to return and take their holdings of the said earle of Morton and his foresaids as they held the samen formerly of the earles of Orkney at their option, togither with all right and title her majestie, her predecessors or successors had, has or any wayes may have, claime or pretend to the premises or to the feufermes, dueties and profites thereof for the termes of Whitsunday [15 May] and Martimas [11 November] 1707 and in time comeing by the reason of ward, nonentrie, acts of annexation, acts of parliament or any other way, as is fully mentioned in the said charter, whereby the haill foresaid lands and others are united in one earledom, lordship and baronie, with priviledge of justiciary, shirifship or steuartrie, bailiary or foudrie, called the earledom of Orkney and lordship of Zetland, ordaining one seasine at the castle of Kirkwall, or any part of the said lands, to be sufficient for the whole premises, redeemable alwayes by her majestie and her successors for 30,000 lib sterling as is expressed in the said charter, with provision that the said earle shall not be accountable for his intromissiones, and that the rents of that year wherein the redemption is declaired shall belong to him to be holden of her majestie for payment of the several feu and other dueties mentioned in the said charter and act of parliament relating thereto. And her majestie, with consent of the said estates of parliament, ratifies and confirmes the precept of seasine contained in the said charter and instrument of seasine to follow thereon and the haill heads, articles and clauses of the said charter, precept of seasine, and wills and grants for her and, [for] her royall successors, statuts, ordaines and declairs that the foresaid charter, precept and seasine are and shall be, conforme to the tenors of the same, good, valid and sufficient rights to the said James, earle of Morton and his foresaids for possessing and injoying, in the termes thereof, the earledom, lordship and others above mentioned without any stop or impediment so far as concernes the interest of her majestie or her foresaids, and that the same shall never be quarreld or revoked by her or them, and that this present ratification is and shall be, to all intents, as sufficient as if every word of the foresaid charter, precept and seasine were insert herein, with the not inserting whereof and with all other objectiones that may be proponed against thir presents and the said writs hereby confirmed, her majestie, with consent foresaid, for her and her said successors, does hereby dispense for ever. Extracted.