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Our sovereign lord, with advice and consent of the estates of this present parliament, ratifies and approves the three charters and contract respectively after-specified, namely: the charter made and granted by his majesty under his highness's great seal of the date at his highness's court of Whitehall, 16 March 1638, to his majesty's right trusty cousin and councillor William, earl of Morton, lord Dalkeith, one of the most honourable order of the knights of the garter, his male heirs and assignees, of the barony, lordship, regality and earldom of Morton to be held comprehending the lands, baronies, burghs of barony, regality, rights of patronages, seaports and others mentioned in the said charter, all to be held of his majesty and his successors in free blench, fee heritage, free barony and regality forever, for payment of one penny usual money of this realm of Scotland at the principal messuage, manor place of Aberdour, at the feast of Whitsunday [May/June], in name of blench ferm, if it be asked only, notwithstanding that some of the lands, baronies and others specified therein were formerly held by the said William, earl of Morton and Robert, lord Dalkeith, his son, or either of them, of his majesty and his most noble progenitors by service of ward and relief or by some other manner of way. The contract and appointment passed between his majesty, with consent of his highness's trusty councillor Sir James Carmichael of that Ilk, knight, his majesty's depute treasurer, comptroller, collector and treasurer depute of his highness's new augmentations of the said kingdom of Scotland, and of the other lords of his majesty's exchequer of the said kingdom, his highness's commissioners, and of John [Stewart], earl of Traquair, lord Linton and Caberston, and the said Earl of Traquair, for his own right and interest in and to the lands and others mentioned therein, on the one part, and the said William, earl of Morton on the other part, of the date at Knightsbridge, Whitehall and Holyroodhouse respectively, 24 June and 15 September 1641, whereby his majesty, with consent foresaid, renounced the bond of alienation and contract therein inserted, made by the said William, earl of Morton and his said son and their spouses in favour of his majesty and his highness's successors of the lands and barony of Dalkeith, Lugton and Sheriffhall mentioned therein, with the teinds and pertinents thereof specified therein and the procuratories of resignation for remaining respectively contained therein, and instruments of resignation following thereupon, with all infeftments and other securities following or appointed to follow upon the same, and by the which last contract his majesty, with consent foresaid, has promised to pass new infeftments in favour of the said Earl of Morton, his male heirs and assignees of the lands, teinds and others foresaid formerly conveyed by him to his majesty in form and manner mentioned in the said contract. And the two charters following upon the said contract under his highness's great seal, both in favour of the said Earl of Morton and his above-written, the one thereof of the lands, lordship, barony and regality of Dalkeith comprehending the lands, lordship, baronies, regality, patronage and others particularly specified therein, to be held of his majesty and his highness's successors in fee heritage, free blench, free lordship, free barony and free regality forever, for yearly payment to his majesty and his highness's successors of one penny usual money of the said realm of Scotland at the principal messuage of Dalkeith at the feast of Whitsunday, in name of blench ferm, if it be asked only, and also for yearly payment to the minister of the kirk of Dalkeith and his successor ministers thereat for the teinds mentioned therein of the duties presently due and owing and used to be paid to them out of the said teinds, notwithstanding that some of the said lands, lordship, baronies and regality were formerly held of his majesty by some other manner of way of holding and were not formerly erected in free regality; and the other of the lands and barony of Sheriffhall therein contained, with the teinds and pertinents thereof specified therein, to be held of his majesty and his successors in fee heritage, free blench and free barony forever, for yearly payment to his majesty and his successors as lords of the lordship and regality of Dunfermline, for the lands and barony of Sheriffhall, of old united in the said barony of Sheriffhall, of two pounds of pepper at the feast of the Nativity of our Lord [25 December] in name of blench ferm only, and for the teinds mentioned in the said charter of one penny usual money of the said realm of Scotland upon the ground of any part of the said lands at the feast of Whitsunday, in name of blench ferm, if it be asked only, which two charters are both dated at Holyroodhouse, 15 September 1641 foresaid, in all points, articles and clauses therein contained after the forms and tenors thereof. And declares this present ratification of the said contract and charters respectively to be as sufficient in all respects as if the same were at length and word by word inserted and engrossed herein, dispensing by this ratification with the not inserting thereof. And further declares, statutes and ordains that the contract and charters respectively above-specified, with the said Earl of Morton's former rights, securities and infeftments of the lands and others foresaid, are and shall be sufficient and valid rights and securities to the said Earl of Morton and his foresaids for possessing and enjoying of the lands and others therein expressed, to be held in manner therein contained, notwithstanding that some of the lands and others contained in the said charters and infeftments thereby appointed to be held hereafter in free blench and regality were formerly held by service of ward and relief or some other manner of holding, and notwithstanding all other objections, impediments and defects that may be proposed or alleged against the validity thereof, concerning which, his majesty, with consent of the estates of parliament, has dispensed and, by this ratification, dispenses for ever. And likewise his majesty, with consent of the said estates, wills and declares that this present ratification of the said contract and charters shall be as valid and effectual to the said Earl of Morton and his foresaids as if the same had been granted by his majesty with consent of the said estates from the beginning.