[1706/10/402]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
At Edinburgh, 21 March 1707. Our sovereign lady, with the special advice and consent of the estates of parliament, ratifies, approves and perpetually confirms a charter under the great seal of the date at Kensington, 18 February last, granted by her majesty, with consent of the lords and other commissioners of her treasury and exchequer, in prosecution of an act of parliament dated 10 February, dissolving from the crown the earldom of Orkney and lordship of Shetland, and others after-mentioned, in favour of James, earl of Morton and his male heirs whatsoever succeeding to his honour and dignity, which failing to his heirs and assignees whatsoever heritably, of all and whole the said earldom of Orkney and lordship of Shetland lying in the kingdom of Scotland, with all and sundry lands, lordships, regalities, baronies, isles, castles, towers, fortalices, manor places, houses, biggings, yards, orchards, parks, fences, enclosures, mills, mill lands, multures, knaveships, woods, fishings, as well of salmon as other fishes in fresh and salt waters, liberties, grassums, forentries,† towns, burghs, annualrents, ferms, feu ferms and duties, together with all and sundry lands called udal lands lying within the said earldom, lordship and isles of the same, with all and sundry privileges, casualties and commodities whatsoever pertaining thereto, as well by sea as land, with tenants, tenantries, service of free tenants, as well in landward as within burgh, teinds great and small, parsonage and vicarage teinds, duties, advocations, donations and rights of patronage of the kirks, chaplainries, altarages and prebendaries within the said earldom and lordship, isles, udal lands and others pertaining thereto, together also with the heritable offices of justiciary, sheriffship or stewartries, bailiary and foudery within the said earldom, lordship, isles and others above-written belonging thereto, with wrack and wair, and all and sundry privileges, liberties, fees, casualties and other commodities whatsoever pertaining to the said offices of justiciary, sheriffship or stewartry, bailiary and foudery, or any of them, with full power to the said James, earl of Morton and his foresaids of appointing, affixing, fencing, holding and continuing courts of justiciary, sheriffship or stewartry, bailiary and foudery at whatsoever place or places within the whole bounds of the foresaid earldom, lordship, isles, lands and others above-mentioned most fit for that effect, and of making, creating and appointing justiciars, sheriffs or stewarts, bailies and fouds and their deputes with clerks, procurator fiscals, officers, sergeants, dempsters and all other necessary members of court for holding the said courts of justiciary, sheriff or stewart courts and courts of bailiary and foudery, within the whole bounds of the said earldom, lordship, isles, lands and others above-written pertaining thereto, and of doing all other things requisite and necessary thereupon, such like and as freely, in all respects, as any other justiciar, sheriff, stewart, bailie or foud within the said kingdom of Scotland, or the said islands of Orkney and Shetland has done, or may do, by virtue of their said offices at any time bygone or to come, and also of her majesty's right of the feu ferms and other duties, casualties and services of all and sundry the heritable vassals and others within the said earldom, lordship, isles, lands and others above-mentioned, with full and only power to the said James, earl of Morton and his foresaids, in her majesty's name, yet remaining superior to enter and receive the said heritable vassals who now actually hold of her majesty and her crown and their heirs, and to grant charters and infeftments to any person or persons of the said earldom, lordship, isles, lands and others above-written, or any part of the same, upon the resignation or disposition of the said vassals or decreets of sale, apprising or adjudication from them, and that either by confirmation or charters containing precepts of sasine, and to intromit with, uplift and dispose upon all and sundry the casualties of the said vassals already vacant or not disposed of, or which shall happen in all time coming to fall and become vacant, by simple or liferent escheat, ward, non-entry, recognition or any other way whatsoever, without prejudice always to the said earl and his foresaids of the superiorities and whole casualties of all such vassals and others as formerly held of the earl of Orkney, and which do not now hold of her majesty. And also, with full and absolute liberty to the said vassals which now hold of her majesty to return and take their holdings of the said earl of Morton and his foresaids as they held the same formerly of the earls of Orkney at their option, together with all right and title her majesty, her predecessors or successors had, has or in any way may have, claim or pretend to the aforesaid or to the feu ferms, duties and profits thereof for the terms of Whitsunday [15 May] and Martinmas [11 November] 1707 and in time coming by the reason of ward, non-entry, acts of annexation, acts of parliament or any other way, as is fully mentioned in the said charter, whereby the whole foresaid lands and others are united in one earldom, lordship and barony, with privilege of justiciary, sheriffship or stewartry, bailiary or foudery, called the earldom of Orkney and lordship of Shetland, ordaining one sasine at the castle of Kirkwall, or any part of the said lands, to be sufficient for the whole aforesaid, redeemable always by her majesty and her successors for £30,000 sterling as is expressed in the said charter, with provision that the said earl shall not be accountable for his intromissions, and that the rents of that year wherein the redemption is declared shall belong to him to be held of her majesty for payment of the several feu and other duties mentioned in the said charter and act of parliament relating thereto. And her majesty, with consent of the said estates of parliament, ratifies and confirms the precept of sasine contained in the said charter and instrument of sasine to follow thereon and the whole heads, articles and clauses of the said charter, precept of sasine, and wills and grants for her and, for her royal successors, statutes, ordains and declares that the foresaid charter, precept and sasine are and shall be, conforming to the tenors of the same, good, valid and sufficient rights to the said James, earl of Morton and his foresaids for possessing and enjoying, in the terms thereof, the earldom, lordship and others above-mentioned without any stop or impediment so far as concerns the interest of her majesty or her foresaids, and that the same shall never be quarrelled or revoked by her or them, and that this present ratification is and shall be, to all intents, as sufficient as if every word of the foresaid charter, precept and sasine were inserted herein, with the not inserting whereof and with all other objections that may be proposed against this ratification and the said writs hereby confirmed, her majesty, with consent foresaid, for her and her said successors, does hereby dispense forever. Extracted.