[1705/6/71]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Petition for [William Kerr], marquis of Lothian read, craving relief from the parliament of the clothing money of his late independent troop and regiment of dragoons now commanded by him, and that Sir William Menzies [of Gladstains's] fund might be affected therewith, and the parliament, having considered the same, the desire of the petition granted in so far as the said fund shall not be exhausted by the former preferences, and recommended to the lords of treasury to assign the said act† and all execution that may be competent thereon for the ends contained in the said petition, as at length here follows.
Her majesty's high commissioner and the estates of parliament, having heard the petition of William, marquis of Lothian and the officers of the regiment of dragoons under his command, humbly showing that there is due to the petitioner as captain of an independent troop of horse from 1 November 1689 to 1 January 1691 the sum of £816 9s sterling, and as colonel of that regiment of dragoons, which was afterwards commanded by the Lord Forbes, from 1 February 1691 to 1 April 1697, the sum of £2,085 17s 2d sterling, and to him and the officers of the regiment of dragoons presently under his command from 15 March 1698, at which time they arrived in Scotland out of Flanders to 1 December 1700, the sum of £6,940 12s 9d sterling, and from 1 August 1704 to 1 September 1705 the sum of £2,600 12s 6d sterling, making in total the sum of £12,443 11s 5d sterling, of which a great part is clothing money and for which the petitioner stands personally bound. And therefore, craving his grace and the honourable estates of parliament to take into their serious consideration the case of the foresaid petitioner and officers in wanting so great a part of their pay for which they have so faithfully and honestly served, both at home and abroad, and in particular what hardships the marquis of Lothian suffers by standing personally bound and under diligence at law for most of the said clothing money which, without the protection and assistance of this honourable house, must inevitably tend to his great and irrecoverable loss and prejudice, and render him incapable to clothe his said regiment, and to order payment of the above balance, so long and so justly due, out of some effectual fund, and particularly out of what's due by Sir William Menzies of the tack duty of the inland excise, specially seeing it is out of what is due by him the petitioners should have been paid and ought now to be preferred thereto, as the said petition bears. And her majesty's said commissioner and the estates of parliament, having this day fully considered the said petition, after the preference to [Alexander Campbell of] Finnab, [John Lindsay], earl of Crawford and [John Murray], duke of Atholl, they recommended and hereby recommend to the lords of treasury to assign to the petitioner the tack duty and tack itself against Sir William Menzies, and others thereby bound, for payment of his debt with quartering and all other diligence competent to the treasury for making the same effectual, out of the surplus of the £5,000 sterling, after the said preferences. Extract.