[A1649/5/20]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Act in favour of the ministry of the province of Argyll.
At Edinburgh, 21 June 1649. The estates of parliament etc. have considered a supplication given in to them by the ministers of the province of Argyll, craving payment of £4,000 granted to them formerly by precept for their subsistence and losses, and for further addition may be added thereto for supplying their burnt books, as at more length is contained in the said supplication. Which, with the opinion of the committee, being considered by the said estates, they have recommended and recommend seriously the said supplication with the desire thereof to the committee of monies and [Sir James Stewart of Kirkfield and Coltness], commissary-general, that they may take some effectual course for payment to them of the surplus of £4,000 resting unpaid and what further addition shall be added thereto for supplying their burnt books. Extracted, [Sir] A[rchibald] Johnston [of Wariston], clerk register.
[A1649/5/21]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Commission for burning of Agnes Hunter and others, 21 June 1649
Edinburgh, the [...] day of June 1649
The estates of parliament now convened, having considered the depositions of Agnes Hunter in Penston, Margaret Dickson there and Isobel Murray there, taken by the ministers and magistrates of Haddington and various elders of that congregation, by which they acknowledge and confess sundry points of the crime of witchcraft, and also considering that the presbytery of Haddington, having perused the former depositions, have found the same sufficient for suiting a commission according to law. And the estates of parliament being desirous to clear the land of wickedness and that such as are guilty of the crime of witchcraft may suffer death according to their demerits, therefore the estates of parliament do hereby give full power, warrant and commission to [William Baillie], laird of Lamington, Patrick Inglis of Elvingston, John Cockburn, provost of Haddington, John Ayton and Patrick Young, bailies of Haddington, to the effect underwritten, hereby authorising them (or any two or three of them to be a quorum) to meet and sit at [...] upon the [...] day of [...], or any other day to be appointed by them, call and convene before them the said Agnes Hunter, Margaret Dickson and Isobel Murray for the said crime of witchcraft, cause them be accused thereof and grounds of indictment to be given in against them, therefore swear, receive and examine witnesses, use, lead and prosecute all manner of probation requisite relating thereto, put the said persons to the knowledge of an assize and, if they be found guilty of the said crime of witchcraft, to convict and condemn them, pronounce and give forth the sentence of death against them, cause strangle them and burn their bodies to death, and for that effect, to hold justice courts, one or more, and the same as often as need be to continue, create clerks, procurators fiscal, serjeants, dempsters and other members of court needful, for whom they shall be answerable, take their oaths for faithful administration and to cause warn a sufficient number of persons least suspect to pass upon the assize of the said witches, each person under the pain of 100 merks Scots, and generally to do every other thing requisite anent the premises that any other judges delegated [may] have done, may do or might have done at any time bygone in similar cases, holding firm and stable.
[John Campbell, earl of] Loudoun, chancellor, in the presence of the lords of parliament
[A1649/5/22]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Report Sutherland, Major Murray and Embo
Edinburgh, 20 June 1649
The committee of bills, having heard and considered the supplication of Sir Robert Gordon of Embo, commissioner for the sheriffdom of Sutherland, in name of the said shire, showing that in the last session of parliament the said shire obtained an exemption for the said shire, both of horse and foot, from the levy in October last, and that notwithstanding thereof Major William Murray has received a bond from some of the heritors of the said shire for payment to him of the sum of £1,200 Scots for horse and foot of the said levy, and therefore desiring that the said Major Murray might be ordained to deliver the said bond back again and not use any execution thereon. As also, the said committee having taken into consideration the supplication of the said Major Murray, showing that Colonel Gilbert Kerr having been appointed to get his division of that levy out of the shires of Sutherland and Caithness, and that [Sir James Stewart of Kirkfield and Coltness], commissary-general, for the ease of the said colonel and expediting the public service, did pay him the said levy money for these horse, and did assign Sir James Fraser [of Brae's] regiment wherein the said Major Murray served to the said locality, and that the said Major Murray, being long retarded by the heritors of these shires for getting up their proportions of the said levy, was at last forced to take the said bond for the sum aforesaid, otherwise he would have to leave the public service and levies of horse and foot in these parts and not get any thing done therein, and to employ the same sum of his own means for making up the proportions that were due by the said shire of Sutherland, which he did really make effectual for the public service; and so expecting that the parliament would not make him restore the said bond, seeing it is granted for the reason aforesaid, and that he did really pay out the same sums for the said heritors (which the said major has declared to be of truth upon his credit and honour). And also the said committee having heard both the supplicants anent a ticket granted by the said Major Murray, bearing that in case the said heritors should obtain exemption for the said levy before the day of payment mentioned in the said bond, that the said bond in that case and in no other way should be of no effect, and the committee finding the exemption produced long posterior to the day of payment contained in the said bond, and that the said major did behave himself gallantly and did lose much of his means at the unhappy surprise attack on the town of Inverness, in consideration of all which, it is the humble opinion of the committee that the said bond and sum aforesaid contained therein be made effectual to the said major, and that he gets payment thereof and be no further delayed by the heritors of the said shire or any other person whatsoever, but that it be declared that he has power to put the bond to execution in the ordinary form.
Sir James Hope [of Hopetoun], in the presence of the lords
Edinburgh, 21 June 1649
The estates of parliament recommit the whole business concerning Sir Robert Gordon of Embo, Major Murray and the supplicant anent that bond of £1,200 to the committee of bills.
Edinburgh, 29 June 1649
The committee of bills, having taken into consideration the remit of the report written within of Major Murray and that, according to the said remit of parliament, the committee did give to [John Gordon], earl of Sutherland the bill of the supplicant to be answered by the said earl upon Tuesday last, 26 June, which the said earl did promise to do; and the said committee having often caused call the said earl to have given in what he had to give in against the said report and he not compearing, the parliament being now so near a closure, the committee adheres to their former report written within and thinks the same reasonable, and it is their humble opinion that the parliament approves the same.