[1703/5/3]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Prayers said.
Her majesty's commission to James [Douglas], duke of Queensberry for representing her royal person in this session of parliament was read by the lord clerk register and ordered to be recorded, whereof the tenor follows:
Anne, by the grace of God, queen of Great Britain, France and Ireland, and defender of the faith, to all honest men to whom our present letters shall have come, greetings. In as much as we, moved by serious reasons of great importance, took pains to proclaim that the parliament of this our ancient kingdom of Scotland, due to meet at Edinburgh on 12 November last bypast, which we prorogued until 6 May next to come, and we, called by affairs of great importance in our other kingdom of England, cannot be present at the first session of our said parliament, we have decided to give a commission to represent our sacred person and authority therein to a most eminent man of the highest rank, proven good faith and imbued with extraordinary talents, and the unfailing loyalty, extraordinary talents and good faith of our most loyal and well-beloved kinsman and councillor James, duke of Queensberry, our principal secretary of state and one of the commissioners of our treasury in the foresaid kingdom, a man of the highest experience over a long period of time who has loyally fulfilled the various high appointments entrusted to him, especially as our commissioner representing our person on previous occasions; therefore since he is so gifted with so many talents of such a kind, which render him most suitable to fulfil this appointment, and promote our pious, royal intentions not only by serving us loyally but also by increasing the common good of our kingdom in church and state, know therefore that we have given and granted, and by the tenor of this commission do give and grant our foresaid most loyal and well-beloved kinsman and councillor James, duke of Queensberry, our most full and abundant power and commission to represent our sacred person and exercise our royal authority as our high commissioner in the first session of our said parliament in our foresaid ancient kingdom of Scotland, and in anything else pertaining to the welfare of the church, the peace and governance of our said kingdom, and the promotion of our service in each administrative function of the same. Moreover, by the tenor of this commission we mark the forementioned James, duke of Queensberry, with our royal title of our commissioner, and we grant him full authority and power to carry out each and every thing relating to the appointment and authority of high commissioner as fully and freely to all effects and conditions as any other person of the same appointment and authority will ever have done, or will have been able to do, during the reigns of any of our predecessors. We do and shall consider binding and permanent each and every thing legally done by him in the execution of this said commission; and we straitly order and command each and every one of our officers of state, those who give us private counsel, the judges, the officers of our troops in this kingdom and all other subjects whomsoever of our said kingdom to acknowledge the foresaid James, duke of Queensberry, as our high commissioner representing our sacred person and exercising our royal authority, and to pay him respect and obedience to the effect and according to the pattern laid down in this our commission. This commission is declared to begin from the date of this patent, and is to continue in force during the first session of the said parliament and until we are pleased to revoke it. Finally, we declare that this our commission in no way derogates from or prejudices any other letter of appointment or commission of the foresaid James, duke of Queensberry, concerning any other task† we have entrusted to him, but they will continue in full force during this our commission, and also after its expiry, and during our good pleasure, in the manner contained in each letter of appointment and commission. In witness whereof, we have ordered that our great seal be appended to this commission. At our palace of St James's, 4 March in the year of our Lord 1703, and in the first year of our reign.
Signed by the hand manual of our supreme lady the queen.
Written to the great seal and registered 21 April 1703. Signed thus, Charles Kerr. Sealed.