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Our sovereign lord, with advice and consent of the three estates of this present parliament, ratifies and approves the contract and appointment passed between our said sovereign lord on the one part, and his highness's right trusty cousin and councillor Archibald, lord Lorne, for himself and taking the burden upon him for his highness's right trusty cousin Archibald [Campbell], earl of Argyll, lord Campbell and Lorne, his father, on the other part, of the date at Whitehall, 3 April, and at Holyroodhouse, 23 April 1628, whereby his majesty declared his gracious and sacred pleasure and promised in the first word that notwithstanding of the renunciation and surrender voluntarily offered and to have been made by the said Archibald, lord Lorne in favour of his majesty and his highness's successors of the office of justiciary general of the whole kingdom of Scotland in manner mentioned in the said contract, the said Archibald, lord Lorne, his male heirs and successors should have, hold and possess the heritable office of justiciary within the bounds after mentioned, namely: within the bounds of the sheriffdoms of Argyll and Tarbert and within the bounds of the whole isles of the said kingdom of Scotland (excepting Orkney and Shetland), and of the lands underwritten, namely: Morvern, Knoydart, Moidart and of the particular lands pertaining heritably to the said Archibald, lord Lorne, namely: the lands of Ardnamurchan, the lands of Lochiel, the lands and barony of the kirkton of Inchberry, with the pertinents, all lying within the sheriffdom of Inverness; the lands and baronies of Rosneath held of the house of Argyll, all and whole the twenty pound land of Duror, all and whole the twenty merk land of Glencran, with the pertinents, the lands of Dusslatter, Wedderglen, lying within the sheriffdom of Perth; and all other lands of the highlands of Scotland either held of the house of Argyll or belonging thereto, with all privileges, liberties, immunities, casualties, profits and duties pertaining and belonging to the said office within the bounds above-rehearsed, under the special provisions, limitations and with the declaration particularly mentioned in the said contract, together with the charter made and granted by his majesty under his highness's great seal of the date at Whitehall, 3 April 1628 foresaid, proceeding upon the said contract, containing a confirmation of all and sundry charters, precepts, instruments of sasine, gifts and all other evidents, titles and securities made and granted by his majesty or any of his highness's most noble progenitors or any other person or persons in favour of the said Archibald, lord Lorne, his said father or any other of his predecessors of the said office of justice general within the whole bounds of the said kingdom of Scotland or of whatsoever privileges, liberties, immunities, casualties, profits and duties pertaining and belonging to the said office or concerning the same in all points and that only in so far as the same concerns or may be extended to the foresaid heritable office of justiciary within the particular bounds above-rehearsed reserved to the said Archibald, lord Lorne and his foresaids by virtue of the said contract and to the whole privileges, liberties, immunities, casualties, profits and duties pertaining and belonging to the said office within the same bounds and no further, and under the provisions, restrictions and limitations mentioned in the said contract and charter, and likewise containing a new gift granted by his majesty to the said Archibald, lord Lorne and his foresaids of the said heritable office of justiciary within the bounds foresaid particularly repeated in the said charter, with the privileges, liberties and under the provisions and restrictions therein mentioned, to be held of his majesty in free blench for the blench duty and service therein specified, with the precept of sasine following thereupon under the quarter seal of the date foresaid of the said charter, and the instrument of sasine following upon the said precept of the date 14 May 1628 foresaid, in all and sundry points, heads, articles and clauses contained therein after the forms and tenors thereof, which contract, charter, precept and instrument of sasine following thereupon were all produced in parliament and shown to his majesty and the said three estates of this present parliament; and in respect thereof his majesty, with advice and consent foresaid, declares, decrees and ordains this present ratification of the foresaid contract, charter, precept and instrument of sasine to be as sufficient in all respects as if the same were at length and word by word inserted and engrossed herein, dispensing with the not inserting thereof in this present ratification. Moreover, forasmuch as by the said contract and infeftment foresaid following thereupon it is provided that his majesty's justice clerk and his deputes shall be clerks in all the courts of justiciary to be held by the said Archibald, lord Lorne and his foresaids within the particular bounds above-specified, likewise his majesty and estates of this present parliament, understanding and considering that the said provision is not only needless but also may be hurtful and prejudicial to justice in respect of the far distance of the sheriffdoms and places above-written (within the bounds whereof the said office of justiciary is reserved and conveyed to the said Archibald, lord Lorne and his foresaids) and the burgh of Edinburgh, which is and should be the proper place of residence to the said justice clerk, by occasion whereof, for want and lack of a clerk justice, might be frustrated and delayed until the said justice clerk should be advertised of the diet and make and constitute deputes to attend the same; and his majesty and estates of this present parliament, also considering that the said reservation made regarding the said clerk was meant and intended only for general circuit courts which by act of parliament are appointed to be held twice in the year and not for particular diets wherein it is most proper and expedient for the advancing of justice that the said Archibald, lord Lorne and his foresaids (to whom the right of justiciary within the bounds above-written pertains by the said infeftment) shall have the undoubted and only right to create, install and eject clerks and other members of court of the said office of justiciary within the bounds above-mentioned in manner following, therefore frees and liberates the said Archibald, lord Lorne, his male heirs and successors to him in the right of the office of justiciary within the bounds above-mentioned of that head and clause of the foresaid contract and infeftment following thereupon, whereby the said justice clerk and his deputes are ordained to be clerks of the said courts of justiciary and that in so far as concerns particular diets and justice courts, and wills and declares that the said Archibald, lord Lorne, his male heirs and successors above-mentioned, shall have good and undoubted right in all time coming, to make, create, install and eject clerks of justiciary and other members of the said justice courts within the bounds of the lands above-specified in all time coming at their pleasure, for whom they shall be answerable to his majesty and his highness's successors, and without prejudice to that clause of the said contract and infeftment following thereupon regarding the said circuit courts to be held twice in the year according to the said act of parliament, wherein his highness said justice clerks or his deputes shall be clerks according to the tenor of the said contract and infeftment foresaid following thereupon, and reservation above-written therein specified. And further his majesty, with advice and consent of the said three estates of this present parliament, by this act, declares, statutes and ordains the foresaid contract, charter, precept and instrument of sasine following thereupon, and this present ratification thereof to be good, valid and sufficient rights and securities to the said Archibald, lord Lorne and his foresaids, whereby they may peaceably possess, enjoy, use and exercise the foresaid office of justiciary within the bounds above-mentioned with the whole privileges, liberties and immunities thereof and uplift the whole casualties and duties of the same contained in the foresaid rights. And furthermore, his majesty, with advice and consent foresaid for the better expedition of justice in the said office within the bounds above-mentioned, by this act, gives and grants full power, commission and liberty to the said Archibald, lord Lorne and his foresaids in their own names, as his majesty's justices within the said bounds, to direct forth summons, precepts and charges of horning against malefactors and delinquents within the bounds foresaid, for charging, warning and citing of them to find caution to underlie the law, and to compear at such convenient times and diets as are allowed by the laws of this country under the pain of rebellion and putting of them to his majesty's horn, and with command to denounce the parties to the horn in case of failure in finding of the said caution, or failure in compearance as said is, and also to direct precepts, letters and charges to denounce all persons to his majesty's horn who are declared fugitive or otherwise are ordained to be denounced his majesty's rebels by any lawful decreet or rollment of court of the said justice courts, and to escheat and bring in all their moveable goods, and to extend the same precepts and letters in ample form; and finds and declares that all precepts and letters of horning to be used in manner above-mentioned and duly registered according to the act of parliament are, and shall be, sufficient and lawful in themselves, and shall infer the escheat of the goods of the rebels according to the laws of this kingdom with all other effects, which letters of horning before the justice general infers in the like cases, and that the whole escheats of the said rebels and the whole financial penalties, amercements and escheats of the said justice courts shall be intromitted with and uplifted by the said Archibald, lord Lorne and his foresaids, the one half thereof for their own use and the other half of the same to the use of his majesty and his successors. And in like manner his majesty, with advice and consent foresaid, declares and ordains that in all patents and commissions to be granted by his majesty or his successors to any person or persons of the foresaid office of justiciary general or justiciary within any particular bounds within this realm, the foresaid office of justiciary within the bounds of the sheriffdoms and lands particularly above-mentioned contained in the said Archibald, lord Lorne's infeftment foresaid, shall be expressly excepted and reserved to him and his foresaids and that the said patents and commissions shall in no way prejudice nor impair the foresaid heritable infeftment of justiciary granted to the said Archibald, lord Lorne and his foresaids, within the bounds above-mentioned, but that the same shall remain entire and in full force unprejudiced by the same patents and commissions, notwithstanding of the generality of the power and terms thereof wherein the same shall happen to be conceived, without prejudice to his majesty and his successors to appoint commissioners within the said bounds at two circuit courts in the year according to the said contract and infeftment following thereupon and under the restrictions therein contained only and no other way. And it is hereby ordained and declared that how often his majesty or his successors shall grant any commissions for holding of circuit courts, that the same commissions (in so far as they or any of them shall comprehend the bounds particularly above-mentioned or any part thereof contained in the said Archibald, lord Lorne's infeftment thereof foresaid) shall be restricted and ruled according to the tenor and provision of the said Archibald, lord Lorne's infeftment. Moreover our said sovereign lord, with advice and consent of the said three estates of this present parliament, by this act, ratifies and approves the acts and statutes after-mentioned made by the lords of his majesty's privy council of the dates after-mentioned, namely: an act made in presence of the said lords of his majesty's privy council of the date 4 September 1629, whereby and according to a warrant directed to the said lords of his majesty's privy council by his majesty for authorising of the said Archibald, lord Lorne and his deputes to hold his justice courts for the north islanders at Inverness, notwithstanding that the said burgh of Inverness be outwith the bounds of the said Archibald, lord Lorne's said grant and infeftment, leaving them to hold courts in any other place where by virtue of his said grant he might do the same, the said lords of his majesty's privy council gave full power and warrant to the said Archibald, lord Lorne and his deputes to hold the said justice courts of the north islanders within the said burgh of Inverness; and declared the justice courts to be held by them within the said burgh of Inverness to be as lawful as if the same burgh were within the bounds above-written whereof the justiciary is conveyed to the said Archibald, lord Lorne and his foresaids; an act made in presence of the said lords of his majesty's privy council of the date 26 August 1630, whereby they ordained that no commission should be granted to nor in favour of any of the islanders until the said Lord Lorne, his majesty's justiciar in the Isles, be first heard and his opinion craved in relation thereto; another act made in presence of the said lords of his majesty's privy council of the date 14 February 1632, whereby they declared that they would grant no commission to any person or persons whatsoever for trying, censuring or judging of any criminal matters within the bounds of the said Archibald, lord Lorne's commission or any part thereof until the said Archibald, lord Lorne be warned to the granting thereof and heard in relation thereto; and likewise, an act made in presence of the lords of his majesty's exchequer of the said kingdom of Scotland upon 23 September 1631, whereby the said lords of exchequer ordained that nothing concerning the said Archibald, lord Lorne, his justiciary within the bounds above-mentioned, neither by commission nor remission, should pass nor have way before them derogatory or prejudicial to the said Archibald, lord Lorne's commission or infeftment foresaid to such time as the said Archibald, lord Lorne should be lawfully warned thereto and heard to propose and object his lawful reasons and defences why nothing should be done in any sort prejudicial to his said commission and infeftment in all and sundry points, heads, articles and clauses therein contained after the forms and tenors thereof; and wills, declares and ordains that this present ratification of the acts and statutes above-specified is and shall be as valid and sufficient in all respects as if the same acts and statutes were at length and word by word inserted herein, dispensing with the not inserting thereof in this present ratification by these words for ever; and ordains the said acts and statutes to be observed and kept in favour of the said Archibald, lord Lorne and his foresaids in all time coming and to have the full force, strength and effect of acts and statutes of parliament. And also his majesty, with consent and advice foresaid, wills and ordains if need be a new infeftment to be passed and completed under the great seal in favour of the said Archibald, lord Lorne and his foresaids, of the said office of heritable justiciary within the bounds above-specified with the privileges above-mentioned according to the tenor of this present act of parliament. It is always declared that this act nor the foresaid infeftment appointed to follow hereupon shall in no way be hurtful to his majesty's right trusty cousin and councillor James [Hamilton], marquis of Hamilton etc., his heirs nor successors regarding their right of justiciary within the bounds of the earldom of Arran in so far as the same belongs to the said James, marquis of Hamilton, lying within the sheriffdom of Bute and within the bounds of the lands of Saddell in Kintyre, lying within the sheriffdom of Tarbert, wherein the said James, marquis of Hamilton is infeft upon the resignation of the said Archibald, lord Lorne, with all privileges, liberties, dignities, immunities, casualties, profits and duties pertaining and belonging to the said office of justiciary within the bounds above-mentioned contained in the said James, marquis of Hamilton's infeftment thereof, held of his majesty; and ordains this act to be a sufficient warrant to the clerk register and his deputes for extending of an act of parliament hereupon in due and competent form.