[1704/7/95]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Prayers said. Rolls called.
Minutes of the last sederunt read.
Act continuing the commission for auditing the accounts of the public funds read for the second time and the further consideration thereof delayed until the next diet of parliament.
Ordered that Sir William Menzies [of Gladstains] sign the account given in by him last diet of parliament.
[1704/7/96]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
The account of the poll-money the year 1693, read, whereof, and of the observations made thereon by the said commission of parliament, the tenors follow.
By the parliament of 1693, act ninth, poll-money was granted for paying the debts due to the country and arrears to the army from 1 November 1689 to 1 February 1691 and strictly appropriated for that end.
The lords of treasury set the same in tack to [George Ross], lord Ross, Sir John Cochrane of Ochiltree, Sir Robert Stewart of Allanbank, Sir George Hamilton of Barnton, Sir James Oswald of Fingalton, bailie James Graham, William Cunningham of Brownhill and James Dunlop, collector, being eight principal tacksmen, bound to the public each materially, for a tack duty of £529,200, payable at two terms, namely at Candlemas [2 February] and Whitsunday [15 May] 1695.
These eight principal tacksmen were afterwards joined with fourteen co-partners, being in all twenty-two tacksmen, and accordingly they proceeded in the management of the poll, but because of the difficulties occurred to them in the management and bringing in thereof, the estates of parliament in 1695, act thirty first, thought fit to turn the tack into a collection, so that the foresaid twenty-two tacksmen became thereafter liable only as collectors and accountable for their intromissions. In the same act, the parliament appointed commissioners to determine in all things relative to this poll, whereupon the said commissioners, according to a power given them, did set the poll in tack a second time to [John Hamilton], lord Belhaven, [Ludovic Grant], laird of Grant, Sir John Houston of that ilk and Sir Robert Dickson of Sornbeg for a tack duty of £360,000, whereof [George Baillie], laird of Jerviswood is made general receiver.
The said commissioners, after they had ordered several payments to be made to the country, they reported their proceedings to the parliament of 1698, whereupon it was remitted back to them to judge in all the difficulties they had found during their commission, with a parliamentary power. But matters not being fully ended by them, there was a new commission appointed by the parliament of 1701 and instructed likewise with the same power.
The lords and others of the second commission thought fit to break the second tack of the poll and turn it again into a collection, the twenty-two above mentioned tacksmen being still liable as collectors.
| Charge of the poll-money 1693 upon the collectors | £ | s | d |
| Collected of poll-money by the several collectors, £291,376 6s | £291,376 | 6 | - |
| Discharge | |||
| 1. Paid in to Jerviswood, general receiver, £233,705 10s | £223,705 | 10 | - |
| 2. Allowed the collectors for their expenses by the second commission of parliament, £12,000 | 12,000 | - | - |
| Balance due by the collectors, £55,670 16s | 55,670 | 16 | - |
| Total | £291,376 | 6 | - |
[1704/7/97]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Observations on the poll 1693
1. That the breaking the second tack of the poll was an ease to the nation, but a loss to the army.
2. That the foresaid sum of £223,705 10s, paid in to Jerviswood, was duly accounted for by him, being exhausted upon precepts from the treasury and the first commission of parliament, except as to £4,350 6s.
3. That the country looking upon what was owing by the army to be a desperate debt, such disadvantageous transactions were made as the half of what was owing came to be lost, besides several sums are yet owing to the country which are neither paid nor transacted.
4. That the balance due by the collectors, namely £55,670 16s was by the second commission of parliament ordered to be put in the hands of Archibald Houston, their clerk, and now by the commission's order transferred to Walter Riddell, their clerk, which at present is the only fund remaining for payment of the arrears due to the army from 1 November 1689 to 1 February 1691.
[1704/7/98]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Then a petition for Katherine Hamilton, widow of Captain Alexander Dunbar, craving payment of arrears due to her husband, with a declaration and consent subscribed by several officers in her favour, read, and, after reasoning thereon, it was put to the vote grant the desire thereof for £300 sterling in part of the arrears craved, or remit to the commission, and carried grant the desire thereof for £300 sterling, in manner following.
[1704/7/99]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Anent the petition given in and presented to his grace her majesty's high commissioner and the honourable estates of parliament, by Katherine Hamilton, widow of the deceased Captain Alexander Dunbar, humbly showing that where the said deceased Captain Alexander Dunbar, having served at the revolution in [Alexander Stewart], lord Blantyre's and [Alexander Gordon, viscount of] Kenmure's regiments as captain, the army at that time did fall into arrears for a whole year, there being nothing paid either to officers or soldiers, whereby the respective captains were necessitated to subsist their companies upon their own charges and credit, and the said deceased captain, the petitioner's husband, did accordingly subsist his company by uplifting the whole effects he had for that end, and did further engage himself in debt for subsisting of the said company, relying upon the public faith for his reimbursement. The parliament which laid on the poll in 1691 took special care that, in the first place, the country debt should be paid and accordingly appointed the privy council to take in all instructions of debts due to the country, and to order their payment out of the first of the said poll-money, which orders of the council were declared by the said act of parliament to be sufficient for payment of the said country debts. Accordingly, the whole country debts were paid, but the petitioner's said husband, having subsisted his company the whole time, there was never any charge or claim given in by the country against him or company. The said deceased captain did not only maintain his company in manner foresaid, by which there is due to him an account of arrears extending to about £550 sterling, conforming to the account given in, but also, during the continuance of the last commission of the poll, which had very long and frequent sederunts, he did act for the behoof of the whole officers concerned in the said poll, and was the sole person that pursued the tacksmen, and brought that matter to the clearness it is now at, whereby there were near £6,000 sterling clearly brought in for the behoof of the said officers, besides considerable progress and discoveries he made of other funds, in all which he was at extraordinary labour and pains, as is well known to the lords and others of the commission who sat in the year 1701, who, being conscious of his diligence and pains he was at in the matter, would certainly have seen him paid of his whole arrears. And seeing there is no other fund left by the petitioner's said deceased husband for subsisting of the petitioner and numerous family but this her just claim to the said arrears, her said husband having truly laid out his whole substance in subsisting his company in manner foresaid, therefore, craving his grace and the estates of parliament to take the circumstances to their serious consideration, and to ordain the persons in whose hands the said sum so discovered and brought in is now lodged, to pay to the petitioner the foresaid arrears, or such a part thereof for subsisting and alimenting her and her numerous family as his grace and the estates of parliament should think fit, as the said petition bears. For instructing of which petition, there was produced for the petitioner in the presence of his grace her majesty's high commissioner and the said estates of parliament, a certificate and declaration in the petitioner's favour by the several officers concerned in the said poll, testifying and declaring to their certain knowledge that the said deceased Captain Dunbar, during the sitting of the said commission, did act as agent for the whole officers concerned in the said poll, and was sole agent and manager for them before the said commission, and was at great pains and expenses thereupon, and was very assistant in making discoveries of the poll and hearth money not accounted for, and was otherwise very serviceable to the whole officers in the said matter, for which cause he was to have preference for what arrears were due to himself, as the same of the date the [...] day of [...] 1704 bears. Which petition and desire thereof, being this day read in the presence of his grace her majesty's high commissioner and the said estates of parliament, and they having considered the same with the foresaid declaration and consent subscribed by the said officers and the circumstances and condition of the said petitioner and her family, and being therewith well and ripely advised, her majesty's high commissioner and the said estates of parliament ordained and hereby ordain Walter Riddell, clerk for auditing the accounts of the public funds, Archibald Houston, writer to the signet, or any other person in whose hands the fund of the poll of 1693 or any part thereof is, to pay instantly out of the first and readiest of what is in their hands or either of their hands, to the said Katherine Hamilton, petitioner, or her order, the sum of £300 sterling in part payment of the said arrears due to her said deceased husband, and that for the special aliment of the petitioner and her said family, and ordains letters of horning on fifteen days' charge and other executorials needful to pass and be directed hereupon, in form as appropriate. Extract.
[1704/7/100]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Then upon consideration of the foresaid account of the poll-money in the year 1693, and observations thereon, the first and second observations sustained, and the balance therein mentioned allowed to [George Baillie], laird of Jerviswood. As to the third observation, after reasoning thereon it was put to the vote whether to prefer the accounts stated due to the country or to the officers for their arrears to the balance of the said account, and carried prefer the officers for their arrears, and the parliament recommended to the commission to be named to inquire into the undue transactions made anent the accounts due to the country and to report.
The parliament recommends to the commission to be named to consider the arrears due to the garrisons of the castles of Edinburgh, Stirling and Dunnottar, to the effect that what was paid out by the several officers for subsisting their garrisons may be reimbursed to them.
The fourth observation delayed until the next diet of parliament.
Agreed that the parliament discuss the accounts prior to all other business.
[1704/7/101]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Ordered that the queen's advocate and solicitor revise the ratifications and fairs to be passed in this session of parliament.
The lord chancellor, by order of the lord high commissioner, adjourned the parliament until tomorrow at 10 o'clock.