Minutes of the last sederunt read.
Ordered that the orders of the house be put in execution against the members that are absent at calling the rolls.
Overture for an act advancing and establishing the fishing trade, read and ordered to lie on the table and to be printed.
[1704/7/92]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
The parliament proceeded to the further consideration of Sir William Menzies [of Gladstains's] affair and, after hearing him and debate thereon, it was put to the vote whether he should pay at the terms following £9,000 sterling or £5,000 sterling of his tack duty, and carried, £5,000 sterling payable at Martinmas [11 November] and Candlemas [2 February] next by equal portions, and remitted to the commission of parliament to be named to consider whether the account given in by him be a true account to be reported next session of parliament, and in the meantime suspends execution for the remaining sum of his tack duty, as is fully contained in the act concerning that matter before written.
[1704/7/93]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Before the said vote [John Gordon], earl of Sutherland protested that whatever deduction of the tack duty was given to Sir William Menzies [of Gladstains], that the parliament make it up, as is more fully contained in his protest, whereof the tenor follows.
Seeing the inland excise set to Sir William Menzies and partners for 1699 and 1700 was appropriate for paying the arrears due for the army so as to give them a sought right, I protest, in name and behalf of the officers of the army, that in case the parliament think fit to give Sir William Menzies and partners any deduction of their tack, that then this honourable house may be obliged to make up the deficiency of the funds.
Signed thus: Sutherland.
[1704/7/94]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Ordered that none of the collectors or tacksmen appointed by him pay any sums of money to him that are not contained in the said account.
Ordered that the clerks of treasury bring in a report how the army was paid during Sir William's tack.
The account of the hearth money read, whereof, and of the observations thereon made by the foresaid commission of parliament, the tenors follow.
The first extraordinary fund granted since 11 April 1689 was the hearth money, by the parliament King William and Queen Mary, session third, act third, which fund was by the said act strictly appropriated for paying the debts due to the country and the arrears to the army, being 14s for each hearth in the kingdom, to be paid in at Candlemas [2 February] 1691, without exception or exemption of any but the hearths of hospitals and of such poor as lived upon the charity of the parish, for the bringing in thereof Mr James Melville of Cassingray was made principal collector, with power to him to name his subcollectors, for whose intromissions he should be liable, as per his bond as principal and the [David Leslie/Melville], earl of Leven as cautioner lying in the treasury.
| The charge of the hearth money | £ | s | d |
| 1. By payments made to him and his subcollectors from several shires as per a particular account, £151,921 8s | £151,921 | 8 | - |
| Discharge | |||
| 1. By payments made by him to the forces upon the treasury's precepts as per an account, £137,533 9s | £137,533 | 9 | - |
| 2. By the subcollectors' salaries conforming to the lords of treasury's establishment, £7,008 3s | 7,008 | 3 | - |
| 3. Balance due by Cassingray, £7,379 16s | 7,379 | 16 | - |
| Total | £151,921 | 8 | - |
Observations on the hearth money
1. That Cassingray in his accounts has stated 8,677 hearths belonging to hospitals and poor people living on charity, as to which there can be no objections, these being excepted in the act.
2. That he has stated 12,687 hearths deficient in their payments, but over and above that number there was a whole parish deficient in the shire of Ayr, the whole lands pertaining to the sheriff of Moray, the whole lands pertaining to Grant of Elchies, the whole lands pertaining to the laird of Calder, the whole parish of Claich, the whole lands pertaining to the laird of Dunmaglass and likewise the houses of Rothesay, Kinross, Leithingtoun and Pinkie.
3. That he has omitted to state the charge of hearths in the shires following, namely: Dumfries, Kincardine, Ross, Cromarty, Nairn, Elgin and the stewartry of Orkney and Shetland, but acknowledges to have received £6,230 8s in part payment of the hearth money of the shires of Ross, Dumfries, Elgin, Nairn, Cromarty, Orkney and Shetland, the subcollectors of these shires not having given in their books nor testified upon the same.
4. That after he had stated his account with the treasury the subcollector of Elgin and Nairn gave in his books to the treasury wherein he makes the number of the hearths of that shire to extend to 3,145 hearths. Likewise, that the subcollector of Kincardine gave in his books wherein the hearths of that shire extend to 3,628, but did not testify upon the verity of his list, nor accounted with the treasury.
5. That there were no books produced by the subcollectors of the shires of Dumfries, Ross, Cromarty, Orkney and Shetland.
6. That of the sum of £137,533 9s, mentioned in Cassingray's discharge, there was £109,081 9s applied for payment of the arrears due to the forces, whereas by the act of parliament it should have been applied for payment of debts due by the army to the country in the first place. Likewise, out of the foresaid £137,533 9s they find the sum of £28,452 paid for subsisting the forces then standing, which they humbly conceive was employed also by the lords of the treasury contrary to the design of the act.
7. That the balance of £7,379 16s mentioned in the discharge was paid up, or at least that there were precepts drawn upon Cassingray for the same, the commission having seen these precepts marked in the treasury books. But because sufficient documents were not produced for instructing that the persons to whom the balance was payable had received the same, therefore, the commission allowed [David Leslie/Melville], earl of Leven a diligence for recovering any writs that were wanting to instruct the foresaid payments, as also to bring in all the collectors who had not testified upon the verity of their books nor accounted for their intromissions.
Upon reading whereof, the first observation sustained. The second observation, the clerks of treasury ordered to produce the treasury books for instructing thereof. As to the third, fourth and fifth observations, the parliament finds that whatever was paid in by Cassingray according to the fitted account with the treasury, the cautioner cannot be liable therefore, and allows the 12,000 as deficient in regard the collectors testified thereon before the treasury, and their bonds were ordained to be given up to them. And as to the shires, parishes and houses not given up, ordered that the collectors account for them before a commission to be named, and finds the cautioner only liable according to their intromission, and remits to the said commission to cite before them such as were collectors at that time and to inquire thereupon. As to the sixth observation, ordered that the clerks of treasury give in account next diet of parliament how the articles therein mentioned were applied, and by whose order.
Overture for an act anent misapplication of funds given for maintenance of the forces, read, and ordered to lie on the table and to be printed.
The seventh observation, the balance therein remitted to the commission to be named to be further considered by them.