[1681/7/28]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
The earle of Broad-albaine, being present, did take the oath of allegiance, oath of parliament and signed the declaration.
The report of the committee anent the debateable election betuixt the laird of Keir and the laird of Touch, commissioners elected for the shire of Stirling, being considered by the parliament, they approved the committee's report and sustained the laird of Airth's commission and rejected the other. Lykeas, the laird of Airth took the oath of allegiance, oath of parliament and signed the declaration.
[1681/7/29]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Our soveraigne lord, with his estates of parliament, considering that albeit by many wholsome laws made by his royal grandfather and father, of glorious memory, and by himself in this and his other parliaments since his happie restauration, the Protestant religion is carefullie asserted, established and secured against popery and phanaticisme, yet the restles adversaries of our religion doe not ceass to propogate their errors, and to seduce his majesties' subjects from their duty to God and loyalty to his vice-gerent, and to overturne the established religion by introduceing their superstitions and delusions into this church and kingdom; and knowing that nothing can more encrease the numbers and confidence of papists and schismaticall dissenters from the established church, then the supine neglect of putting in execution the good laws provided against them, togither with their hopes to insinuat themselves into offices and places of trust and publict imployment; therefore his majesty, from his princely and pious zeal to mantein and preserve the true Protestant religion contained in the Confession of Faith, recorded in the first parliament of King James the sixth, which is founded on and agriable to the written word of God, doeth, with advice and consent of his estates of parliament, require and command all his officers, judges and magistrats to putt the laws made against poperie and papists, preists, Jesuits and all persons of any other order in the popish-church, especially against sayers and hearers of mass, venders and dispersers of forbidden books and resetters of popish preists and excommunicat papists, as also against all phanatick separatists from this national church, against preachers at hous or feild-conventicles and the resetters and harborers of preachers who are intercomuned, against dissorderly baptismes and marriages and irregular ordinations and all other schismatical dissorders, to full and vigorous execution, according to the tenour of the respective acts of parliament theranent provided. And that his majesties' princely care to have these laws putt in execution against those enemies of the Protestant religion, may the more clearlie appear, he doeth, with advice and consent foresaid, statute and ordain that the ministers of each paroch give up in October yearlie, to their respective ordinaries, true and exact lists of all papists and schismaticall withdrawers from the publict worship in their respective paroches, which lists are to be subscribed by them, and that the bishops give in a double of the saids lists subscribed by them to the respective sheriffs, stewarts, bailyies of royaltie and regalitie, and magistrats of burghs, to the effect the said judges may proceid against them according to law; as also, the sheriffs and other magistrats foirsaids are hereby ordained to give to his majesties' privy councill, in December yearly, ane account of their proceidings against those papists and phanaticall separatists, as they will be ansuerable at their highest perril. And that the diligences done by the sheriffs, bailyies of regalities and other magistrats foresaids may be the better inquired into by the councill, the bishops of the respective diocies are to send exact doubles of the lists of the papists and phanaticks to the clerks of privy councill, wherby the diligences of the sheriffs and other judges foirsaids may be controlled and examined. And to cut off all hopes from papists and phanaticks of their being imployed in offices and places of publict trust, it is hereby statute and ordained that the following oath shall be taken by all persons in offices and places of publict trust civill, ecclesiastical and military, especially by all members of parliament and all electors of members of parliament, all privy councellors, lords of session, members of the exchequer, lords of justitiary and all other members of these courts, all officers of the croune and state, all archbishops and bishops and all preachers and ministers of the Gospell whatsoever, all persons of this kingdom named or to be named commissioners for the borders, all members of the commission for church-affairs, all sheriffs, stewarts, balyies of royalties and regalities, justices of the peace, officers of the mint, commissars and their deputs, their clerks and fiscalls, all advocats and procurators before any of these courts, all writers to the signet, all publict notars and other persons imployed in writeing or agenting, the lyon king at armes, heraulds, pursevants and messingers at armes, all collectours, subcollectors and farmourers of his majesties' custome and excise, all magistrats, deans of gild, counsellours and clerks of burghs royal and regalitie, all deacons of trades and deacon-conveeners in the saids burghs, all maisters and doctors in universities, colledges or schools, all chaplanes in families, pedagogues to children, and all officers and souldiers in armies, forts or militia, and all other persons in publick trust or office within this kingdom, who shall publikely swear and subscribe the said oath as follows, viz, the archbishops, cheif commander of the forces and officers of the croune and state and councellors, before the secret council; all the lords of session and all members of the colledge of justice, and others depending upon them, before the session; the lords of justitiary and those depending upon that court, in the justice-court; the lords and other members of exchequer, before the exchequer; all bishops, before the archbishops; all the inferior clergie, commissars, masters and doctors of universities and schools, chaplanes and pedagogues, before the bishops of the respective diocies; sherifs, stewards, bailyies of royalty and regality, and those depending on these jurisdictions, before these respective courts; and provests, bailyies and others of the burgh, before the toun-councill; all collectors and farmorers of the king's customs and excise, before the exchequer; the commissioners of the borders before the privy councill; all justices of peace, before their conveener; and the officers of the mint, before the general of the mint; and the officers of the forces, before the commander in cheif, and common souldiers before their respective officers; the lyon, before the privy council, and heraulds, pursevants and messingers at armes, before the lyon. And his majesty, with consent foresaid, statuts and ordains that all those who presently possess or enjoy any of the foresaids offices, publick trusts or imployments, shall take and subscribe the following oath in one of the foresaids offices, in manner before prescribed, betuixt and the first of January nixt, which is to be recorded in the registers of the respective courts, and extracts therof, under the clerk's hands, to be reported to his majesties' privy councill betuixt and the first of March nixt 1682; and therafter in any other courts, wherof they are judges or members, the first time they shall sit or exerce in any of these respective courts; and ordains that all who shall hereafter be promoted to or imployed in any of the foresaids offices, trusts or imployments shall, at their entry into and before their exerceing therof, take and subscribe the said oath in manner foresaid, to be recorded in the registers of these respective courts, and reported to his majesties' privy councill within the space of fourty dayes after their taking the same. And if any shall presume to exercise any of the saids offices or imployments, or any publict office or trust within this kingdom (the king's lawfull brothers and sons only excepted) until they take the oath foresaid and subscribe it to be recorded in the registers of the respective courts, they shall be declared incapable of all publict trust thereafter and be further punished, with the loss of their movables and liferent escheat, the one half wherof to be given to the informer and the other half to belong to his majestie. And his majestie, with advice foresaid, recomends to his privy council to see this act put to due and vigorous execution.
Follows the tenor of the oath to be taken by all persons in publick trust:
I, A. B. solemnlie swear, in presence of the eternal God, whom I invocat as judge and witness of my sincere intention of this my oath, that I own and sincerely profess the true Protestant religion contained in the Confession of Faith recorded in the first parliament of King James the sixth, and that I beleive the same to be founded on and agriable to the written word of God. And I promise and swear that I shall adhere therto during all the days of my lifetime, and shall endeavour to educat my children therin; and shall never consent to any change nor alteration contrary therto; and that I dissown and renunce all such principles, doctrines or practises, whether popish or phanaticall, which are contrary unto and inconsistent with the said Protestant religion and Confession of Faith. And for testification of my obedience to my most gracious soveraigne Charles the second, I doe affirm and swear, by this my solemn oath, that the king's majesty is the only supream governour of this realme, over all persons and in all causes, as weill ecclesiastical as civill, and that no forraigne prince, person, pope, prelate, state or potentat hath or ought to have any jurisdiction, power, superiority, preheminency or authority ecclesiastical or civil within this realme, and therfore I doe utterly renunce and forsake all forraigne jurisdictions, powers, superiorities and authorities, and doe promise that, from henceforth, I shall bear faith and true allegiance to the king's majestie, his heirs and laufull successors; and to my power shall assist and defend all rights, jurisdictions, prerogatives, privileges, preheminencies and authorities belonging to the king's majestie, his heirs and lauful successors. And I farder affirm and swear, by this my solemn oath, that I judge it unlauful for subjects, upon pretence of reformation or any other pretence whatsoever, to enter into covenants or leagues, or to convocat, conveen or assemble in any councills, conventions or assemblies, to treat, consult or determine in any mater of state, civil or ecclesiastick, without his majesties' special command or express licence had thereto, or to take up arms against the king or those commissionated by him; and that I shall never so rise in arms or enter into such covenant or assemblies; and that ther lyes no obligation on me from the National Covenant or the Solemn League and Covenant (so commonlie called) or any other manner of way whatsoever, to endeavour any change or alteration in the government, either in church or state, as it is now established by the laws of this kingdom. And I promise and swear that I shall, with my utmost power, defend, assist and mantein his majesties' jurisdiction foresaid against all deadly; and I shall never decline his majesties' power and jurisdiction, as I shall answer to God. And finally I affirm and swear that this my solemn oath is given in the plain, genuine sense and meaning of the words, without any equivocation, mental reservation or any manner of evasion whatsoever; and that I shall not accept or use any dispensation from any creature whatsoever. So help me God.
[Dissent]
That pairt of the act, if the Test should be put to the electors of commissioners for shires to the parliament, having been put to the vote by it selfe, before the voteing and passing of the whole act, and the same being caryed in the affirmative, the laird of Saltoun and the laird of Grant, having voted in the negative, desired their dissent might be marked.