[1649/1/419]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
The estates of parliament, taking into their consideration the supplication given in by Barbara Johnston, widow of the late George Weir of Blackwood, making mention that the said late George having, according to a contract and appointment matrimonial made and perfected between him on the one part and the petitioner, with certain of her friends, on the other part, of the date 24 July 1609, obliged them to infeft and seise the supplicant in liferent during all the days of her lifetime in all and whole the lands of the Mains of Blackwood, with the tower, fortalice and two merk land of Mosmyning, with the pertinents, heritably pertaining to him, as the said contract of the date aforesaid bears. The said late George Weir, for fulfilling of that head and clause of the same contract, duly and lawfully infeft and seised the supplicant in liferent during her lifetime in the said lands, as an instrument of sasine made to her thereupon purports. Yet nevertheless John Bannatyne of Corhouse, alleging to have right from the said late George Weir to the said lands of Mosmyning, daily troubles and molests the said supplicant (being an aged widow) in the peaceable possession of the same lands and in uplifting the mails, ferms and duties thereof, and has already, contrary to all equity and reason, uplifted a great part of the same for the crop of 1648 last, whereby the supplicant is prejudiced and frustrated of a great part of her liferent right of the said lands provided to her as said is, the same being the most part of any thing she has to maintain herself and her family, and will undoubtedly be brought and reduced to great necessity unless the said estates of parliament provide remedy. And therefore humbly supplicating the said estates of parliament would be pleased to take the premises into consideration, and to give order and command hereby to the said John Bannatyne of Corhouse to compear before the said estates of parliament at some day or days as the said estates shall appoint, bringing and producing with him before them the whole writs, evidents and rights he has of or concerning the said lands of Mosmyning (provided to the said petitioner in liferent as said is and which as yet she never renounced); and it being found by the said estates of parliament that any writs or rights he has (if any be) are not consented to nor subscribed by the said supplicant and posterior to her liferent right and infeftment in the said lands, then to give order and command to him thereby not to intromit with any part of the mails, ferms and duties thereof nor to trouble and molest her in the peaceable possession of the same during all the days of her lifetime, and to deliver to her so much of the duties of the said lands as he has already wrongfully intromitted with according to all equity and reason, as the said supplication at length bears. Which being referred by the said estates of parliament to the committee of bills to have heard the said parties and to consider the desire of the said supplication and give in their opinion relating thereto, who having reported their opinion to the said estates of parliament, they have referred and refer the same to Sir John Hope of Craighall, knight, Mr Alexander Pearson [of Southhall] and Mr Robert MacGill, senators of the college of justice, with power to them to decide and determine therein, and have ordained and ordain all necessary execution to follow and be directed upon their sentence to be pronounced therein.