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Prayers said. Rolls called.
Minutes of the last sederunt read.
Report of the committee anent the accounts of the African and Indian Company, again read. As also, an overture anent the accounts of the said company brought in and read, and after discourse thereon, it was moved to proceed on the report of the committee. Moved also to delay proceeding until the next sederunt of parliament that the overture be printed and, after debate, it was put to the vote, proceed to the report of the committee or print the overture, and it carried print.
Warrant granted on a petition to cite the creditors of Alexander Colville of Kincardine in order to his obtaining a protection.
[1706/10/320]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Petition of Lady Mary Bruce and William Cochrane of Ochiltree, her husband, against [Alexander Bruce], earl of Kincardine, and answers thereto, read, and the desire of the petition granted in the terms of the deliverance thereupon.†
Representation from the council of trade reporting to the parliament their procedure, and recommending their clerk and other persons employed by them for a gratification for their pains, read, and it was agreed to give the council of trade the thanks of the house for their pains and attendance, and to take the case of the clerk and other persons employed by them to consideration when the parliament comes to consider the public debts.
Petition for Sir John Shaw of Greenock and Sir Archibald Campbell of Clunes, craving payment of a sum expended by them in prosecution of their commission for keeping out of Irish victual etc., and an allowance in time coming, read and the desire thereof granted in the terms of the deliverance thereon.
[1706/10/321]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
At Edinburgh, 3 March 1707, her majesty's high commissioner and the estates of parliament, having heard the petition of Sir John Shaw of Greenock and Sir Archibald Campbell of Clunes showing that the petitioners, having obtained a commission from the lords of her majesty's privy council in October 1705, for executing the several laws and acts of parliament against importing of victual, horse, beef, cattle, butter, cheese and woollen manufacture from Ireland into this kingdom and, for the more effectual execution of that commission, the petitioners did undertake to equip and maintain two birlings to guard the coasts and found sufficient caution to pay 10 merks for every boll of victual that should be imported and not seized, and for exact diligence in the execution of that commission, for which the petitioners have an allowance of 10,000 merks. This undertaking was attended with so much difficulties that no former endeavours of such as were employed in that office did never in the least attain to the end, and Irish victual and other prohibited goods have, from time to time, been imported into some or other of the western coasts; but the petitioners have fully answered the trust reposed in them and, by their indefatigable pains and great expenses, have made it appear that the undertaking is practicable, and during their commission the foresaid unwarrantable importation of Irish victual and other prohibited goods has been effectually restrained, whereby the petitioners have been engaged in vast and unforeseen expenses, not only by allowances to deputes in several districts and for intelligence, but likewise in providing birlings manned and equipped to cruise along the coasts in the greatest storms in winter which were projected to be but open boats when the petitioners† were first granted. Yet, when they came to the practice, it was found necessary that one of them should be aboard on each of these birlings in the most rigid seasons and, for preservation of the petitioners' lives and soldiers and seamen employed in them, to bestow great expenses in making them fit for their business, which they did so effectually that no boat or bark coming from Ireland could pass without the petitioners' knowledge of her and her cargo, which effectually restrained that unlawful and unprofitable trade with Ireland, as is well known to all the heritors in the west country, which also gave encouragement to bring about a considerable quantity of victual from the north. This great work could not be performed without a vast charge for building and equipping the birlings, the skippers' and seamens' wages, with their necessary provisions and salaries to deputes and their servants, of which no estimate could be made without a trial. But the petitioners spared nothing to make the thing effectual, not doubting that the government would be careful to repair their losses in the service of the public, and accordingly they had disbursed the sum of £6,733 17s 2d Scots money, conforming to a particular account given in with the said petition, not reckoning their personal expenses or any allowance for their pains nor yet the wages and maintenance of their skippers and seamen, which according to the present establishment extends to £4 to each skipper and 23s sterling to each seaman per month for wages, and 6d per day for maintenance, being in total, for the space of a year, the sum of £3,571 16s, and each birling had a skipper and four seamen ever since their being equipped until this day, whereupon they were ready to testify. And further, the petitioners must beg leave to represent to his grace and their lordships that, over and above the two particular sums before expressed, there were necessarily spent out of personal expenses the sums of money respectively underwritten: to wit by Colonel Patrick Ogilvie of Cairns, the sum of £1,000 Scots for himself and upon intelligencers, and the said Sir John Shaw of Greenock, for himself and upon intelligencers, his district being by far the place of greatest consumption and traffic, the sum of £3,600 Scots, and the said Sir Archibald Campbell, for himself and upon intelligencers, the sum of £1,600 Scots, whereupon all and sundry the respective sums above set down the said petitioners were willing to testify, to which, in total, extends to the sum of £16,505 Scots, whereby it appeared that they were over-spent in the sum of £9,839 Scots over and above the 10,000 merks allowed. And also their vigilance and exact execution of the laws was such that they speedily put a stop to all importation and had no valuable seizures to defray any part of the said account, which were interrupted by their vigilance as aforesaid. Therefore, craving his grace and honourable estates of parliament, in consideration of the premises, to ordain the petitioners to be reimbursed in so far as they were truly losers in the faithful and diligent execution of their commission, to the general benefit and advantage of the nation, extending to the sum of £9,839 Scots with a further allowance and consideration of their pains, yearly maintenance of their skippers and seamen, in time coming, according to the above establishment, upon some sure effectual fund that they might be encouraged to prosecute this public good and put the business in such a method as it might not miscarry for the future, as the said petition bears, with which there was produced the foresaid account and an assignation to them by the said Colonel Patrick Ogilvie. And her majesty's high commissioner and the said estates of parliament, having considered the said petition and being therewith well and ripely advised, they found and hereby find that there is due and ought to be paid to the petitioners for their disbursements, the above sum of £9,839 Scots, and that the same is a public debt, and that the petitioners' management in the matter to them committed has been exact and faithful and to the public advantage of the nation, and therefore ought to be continued. And, having likewise considered what sums will be necessary for the ends mentioned in the contracts passed between the lords of council and the petitioners on the one and other parts, they found and hereby find that the discharge of the trust committed to the petitioners will require a greater sum than the 10,000 merks formerly allowed, and have remitted and hereby remit to her majesty's royal consideration what further sum shall be allowed yearly for executing the said commission in time coming, and also for payment of the above sum of £9,839 out of what effectual fund her majesty shall think fit.
[1706/10/322]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Agreed that the action at the instance of Sir Patrick and James Ogilvie, elder and younger of Boyne, against their creditors shall be called and taken into consideration first of all private business, and next thereinto the action at the instance of George Dundas against his creditors.
Then the following acts, namely act anent forestairs and outshoots in that wynd called Mary Wynd in the burgh of Stirling, act in favour of [James Livingstone], earl of Linlithgow and Callander, and act in favour of [Cicilia Wedderburn], lady Littlegill and her son, were all separately read a second time and separately voted and approved.
Then the lord chancellor, by order of her majesty's high commissioner, adjourned the parliament until Wednesday next at 10 o'clock.