[1661/1/93]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
[Hugh Montgomery], earl of Eglinton protested that the ranking and calling of his lordship in the rolls of this parliament shall not prejudice his lordship of his right and precedency before any that are ranked before him according to his rights.
[1661/1/94]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Our sovereign lord, considering the great care his royal father and grandfather, of ever blessed memory, had at all times of the reformed religion within this kingdom and of the maintenance and provision of the ministry and churches thereof; concerning which, and for the public good of the nation, his majesty's royal father did emit a declaration immediately after his succession to the crown, and concerning diverse other particulars relating to teinds and superiorities of kirk lands, in order whereunto diverse acts and ordinances of parliament and of commissions were from time to time made during the reign of his ever glorious father, and yet, by the unhappy troubles of the time, his royal purpose has not got a small accomplishment so that diverse churches are as yet unprovided with sufficient maintenance, many teinds unvalued and diverse other particulars are as yet unperfected; and his majesty being desirous to prosecute this good work for the universal good of the people, and namely for the encouragement of the ministers of the Gospel, his majesty, with advice and consent of the estates of parliament, does ratify and approve the nineteenth act of the parliament held at Edinburgh by his royal father in the year 1633 entitled, commission for valuation of teinds etc., in the whole heads, clauses and contents thereof, except in so far as there has been any derogation made thereto by acts and commissions made and granted by his majesty since the date of the said act or granted by pretended parliaments since, and which are ratified or salved, or to be reserved by this present parliament. And his majesty, with advice and consent foresaid, does give full power and commission to the persons after-mentioned, namely John [Middleton], earl of Middleton, his majesty's commissioner, William [Cunningham], earl of Glencairn, lord high chancellor, John [Lindsay], earl of Crawford Lindsay, lord treasurer, John [Leslie], earl of Rothes, president of his majesty's privy council, William [Douglas], duke of Hamilton, James [Graham], marquis of Montrose, John [Maitland], earl of Lauderdale, his majesty's secretary, William [Keith], earl Marischal, John [Murray], earl of Atholl, George [Livingstone], earl of Linlithgow, James [Home], earl of Home, James [Murray], earl of Tullibardine, William [Ker], earl of Roxburghe, John [Hamilton], earl of Haddington, James [Johnston], earl of Annandale, William [Crichton], earl of Dumfries, John [Hay], earl of Tweeddale, James [Livingstone], earl of Callander, John [Scrimgeour], earl of Dundee, David [Murray], viscount of Stormont, John [Sinclair], lord Sinclair, David [Erskine], lord Cardross, John [Hamilton], lord Belhaven, [Alexander Falconer], lord [Falconer of] Halkerton, William [Cochrane], lord Cochrane, [Sir] William [Bellenden], lord Bellenden,† Sir John Gilmour of Craigmillar, president of the session, Sir Archibald Primrose of Chesters [and Carrington], knight and baronet, clerk of his majesty's council, register and rolls, Sir John Fletcher, his majesty's advocate, Sir Robert Moray, justice clerk, Sir James Lockhart of Lee, Sir George MacKenzie of Tarbat, Sir James Foulis of Colinton, Sir Archibald Stirling of Garden, Sir James Dalrymple of Stair, Sir John Scougal of Whitekirk, senators of the college of justice, Alexander Bruce of Kincardine, Sir John Urquhart of Cromarty, Sir Robert Fletcher of Saltoun, Sir Alexander Gibson of Durie, Sir Robert Innes of that ilk, James Crichton of St Leonards, Sir George Kinnaird of Rossie, Sir Gilbert Ramsay of Balmain, John Murray of Polmaise, William Scott of Ardross, Sir James Dundas of Arniston, Sir John Foulis of Ravelston, Richard Murray of Broughton, Sir Robert Hepburn of Keith, Mr Robert Preston of that ilk, Sir Andrew Ramsay, Sir Robert Murray [of Cameron], Sir Archibald Sydserf, Sir William Thomson and John Milne, burgesses of Edinburgh, Sir Alexander Wedderburn [of Blackness] and Alexander Wedderburn [of Kingennie], burgesses of Dundee, Mr John Paterson [of Benchillis] of Perth, John Bell [of Hamilton Ferme] of Glasgow, William Cunningham [of Brownhill] of Ayr, Andrew Glen of Linlithgow, Duncan Nairn of Stirling, Alexander Bruce [of Broomhall] of Culross, Andrew Carstairs of St Andrews and William Seaton of Haddington, burgesses, or any thirteen of them, there being always present three noblemen, three gentlemen and three burgesses, with his majesty's commissioner, the lord chancellor, lord treasurer, lord president of the council, lord privy seal, the lord secretary [...] or any one of them, and with power to them or quorum foresaid to meet and convene at Edinburgh, or such other place or places and at such times and diets as they shall appoint, to value and cause value whatsoever teinds, great or small, parsonage or vicarage, of whatsoever lands and others within this kingdom liable to the payment of teinds, of whatsoever nature or quality the same be of which are yet unvalued; providing the ministers serving the cure who do carry teinds, be secured of good and thankful payment of so much victual or money, answerable to the worth of the said teinds, as the teinds shall be valued to. And also, with power to them to receive reports from sub-commissioners and to appoint sub-commissioners, conforming to the former acts and commissions, to appoint constant and local stipends and grant augmentations, to disjoin too large and spacious kirks, build and erect new kirks, dismember, annex and unite kirks, and to take order that every heritor and liferenter shall have the leading and buying of their own teinds, if they be willing, according to the rates prescribed by former commissions, namely by the foresaid commission granted by his majesty, with consent of the estates of parliament, in the year 1633; and with power to the said commissioners or quorum foresaid to give recompense to parties for the augmentation of stipends to be imposed by this commission, in the same way as was done by former commissions, namely by the commission in 1617; with power to them to determine all questions concerning the prices of teinds between titulars and others having right to the teinds and the heritors, and to appoint such securities in favour of the titulars and others having right by the heritors, payers of the valued duties or buyers of the said teinds, and in favour of the ministers as to their maintenance, as the said commissioners shall think fitting, according to the rules set down in the said former acts, namely in the said act in the year 1633; and also with power to them to appoint and provide for such other pious uses in each parish, as the estate thereof may bear, declaring that where the vicarage of any parish is a several benefice and title from the parsonage, the same shall be severally valued; and to the effect the titulars or ministers serving the cure, having right to the said vicarage, be not frustrated of the true worth thereof, it is always declared that ministers serving the cure, who now carry their teinds, and that colleges, schools and hospitals be not constrained to sell, set nor convey their teinds in prejudice of their successors, notwithstanding of the valuation thereof, and that titulars and others having right to teinds shall not be forced to convey any teinds, valued or to be valued, which they shall be content and willing to assign and convey to the ministers serving the cure of the parish as a part of his provision. And his majesty, with consent foresaid, declares that where valuations are lawfully laid against all parties having interest and allowed by former commissions, according to the order observed by them, that the same shall not be drawn in question nor rectified upon the pretence of enorm lesion at the instance of the minister not being titular; or at the instance of his majesty's advocate, for and in respect of his majesty's annuity, unless it be proved that collusion was used between the titulars and heritor, or between the procurator fiscal and heritors and titular; which collusion is declared to be where the valuations are laid, with the diminution of a third of the just rent, and which diminution shall be proved by the parties' oaths. And albeit that all the acts of the pretended parliaments in the years 1640 and 1641, and since, are declared by an act of this present parliament null and of no avail in time coming, yet it is hereby declared that all and whatsoever valuations, acts, sentences and decreets done, concluded and decided by virtue of any commissions granted by the said pretended parliaments, with all execution used or to be used thereupon, are and shall stand valid in all time coming, notwithstanding of the foresaid act rescissory; and this for the good and ease of the people and for encouragement of the ministers of the Gospel, whereunto his majesty has always a tender respect. And although, by a special act of this present parliament, the pretended parliament held in the year 1649 and in the beginning of the year 1650 is from the beginning declared void and null, and all that followed thereon, yet nevertheless his majesty does, with advice foresaid, authorise all valuations, acts, decreets and sentences, laid, deduced and pronounced by the commissions one or more appointed by the said pretended parliament for plantation of kirks and valuation of teinds, and all execution competent thereupon, excepting such decreets and sentences given in favour of ministers for their stipends or for dividing, uniting, annexing or building of kirks, which shall be found to have been unjustly or exorbitantly discerned, and the determination whereof is hereby referred by his majesty, with consent foresaid, to the said commissioners that they, after hearing of parties and consideration of particulars, may take such course for altering, annulling or allowing of the said acts, decreets and sentences, as they shall think fitting, conforming to the laws, practice and custom observed preceding the year 1649. And ordains also process upon supplications to be summarily granted, parties always being cited, and that without any reduction. And it shall be lawful to the said commissioners, or quorum foresaid, to proceed in all summons and actions to be intended for that effect within the space of two years after the first downsitting of the commission. As also, with power to the said commissioners, upon the dependence of the said complaints and processes, to discharge execution upon the foresaid decreets in whole or in part, as they shall find just, until such time as the matter is determined by them. As also, in respect that by diverse decreets pronounced by the said commissioners appointed by the said commission in the year 1649, the burden of an augmentation was put upon diverse tacksmen of teinds, and yet no recompense was made to them by prorogating of the said tacks; in regard also that diverse registers of commissions preceding the year 1649 are lost, whereby prorogations were granted in favour of tacksmen, and the extracts also perished the time of the troubles; therefore his majesty, with consent foresaid, gives power to the said commissioners, or quorum foresaid, appointed by this commission, to grant recompense and prorogation to the said tacksmen in the same manner as was prescribed by the former commissions namely, by the commission in the year 1617, the titulars always being cited thereto. And whereas it may fall out that some of the said commissioners now appointed may be unable to attend the service through death, sickness or some other well-known impediment, therefore his majesty declares that he shall be careful to fill their places with other persons qualified, whose oaths for faithful discharge of the same shall be taken by the lord chancellor, or in his absence by the president of the said commission for the time. And also ordains this present commission to endure until such time as the same is discharged by his majesty; and ordains the acts, decreets and ordinances thereof to have the force, strength and effect of a decreet, sentence and act of parliament; and the lords of the session to grant and direct letters of horning, poinding and others required, in manner contained in the said former commissions. And moreover considering that it was the will and pleasure of his majesty's royal father that all heritors who should be willing to buy should have their own teinds at reasonable rates, therefore his majesty, with advice foresaid, statutes and ordains that all heritors whose teinds are not valued shall have liberty to value and buy the same at such rates as are contained in the act of parliament of 1633; with power to augment the said rates according to the burden of augmentations and others sustained by the titulars since the said act of parliament of 1633, and the said heritors to have the liberty of buying, as said is, within the space of three years after the valuation, with power also to the said commissioners to determine therein according to justice, with this declaration always: that in case the impediment during the space foresaid flow from the titular by reason of his minority or other inability, in that case the heritor who offered himself ready to buy his own teind within the space foresaid shall have place, so soon as the impediment is removed, to buy his teinds, notwithstanding the expiring of the years and space above-expressed. And it is declared that if the heritor be minor, and his tutors neglect the buying of his teinds within the foresaid space, the minor shall have action for two years after his minority to compel the titular for selling of the said teinds.