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Our sovereign lord, with advice and consent of his estates of parliament, ratifies and approves a charter granted by his majesty's late dearest father, of blessed memory, with consent of the commissioners and of the rest of the lords of his majesty's exchequer, under his majesty's great seal, in favour of the bailies, community, council and burgh of Kirkcaldy and their successors, dated 5 February 1644, together with the precept and instrument of sasine following thereupon, whereby his majesty, with advice and consent foresaid, has ratified and approved the donation and mortification made and granted by the late King David II, his majesty's predecessor of worthy memory, by his letters patent under the great seal in favour of the abbots of Dunfermline for the time, with diverse privileges and immunities at length specified in the said letters patent dated 24 October, and thirty-fourth year of the said King David's reign, whereby the said late King David endowed and mortified his majesty's burgh of Kirkcaldy to and in favour of the said abbots of Dunfermline and their successors, and by the which new charter foresaid his majesty, with consent of the said commissioners of his majesty's exchequer, has ratified and approved the indenture made between the late Richard [de Bothwell], abbot† of Dunfermline for the time and convent thereof upon the one part, and the bailies and community of the said burgh of Kirkcaldy on the other part, of the date at Dunfermline, 20 January 1450 [1451], whereby the said commendator and convent of Dunfermline gave, granted and made over to the said bailies, community and burgh of Kirkcaldy for the time, and to their successors bailies and community of the said burgh perpetually, and in all time thereafter, their burgh of Kirkcaldy foresaid and port and harbour thereof, with the whole burgh mails of the said burgh and whole small customs of the same, with courts and amerciaments thereof, with common pasturage in the muir of Kirkcaldy and their pertinents whatsoever, as freely in all and by all things as the burgesses of the burgh of Dunfermline bruiked and possessed; and likewise by the new charter foresaid, his majesty, with consent foresaid, has ratified and approved all other rights and securities whatsoever made and granted by the said late King David II, or by any others of his majesty's predecessors, of worthy memory, in favour of the said burgh of Kirkcaldy, council and community thereof, and of the said burgh, port and harbour of the same, burgh mails, liberties, commodities, powers, privileges, anchorages and other customs whatsoever used and wont pertaining to the said burgh, and whereof they have been in possession at any time bygone of whatsoever dates, tenor and contents the same rights and securities be of, in the whole heads, clauses, articles, conditions and circumstances of the same. And his majesty has willed and declared and for his highness and his successors, with advice and consent foresaid, decreed and ordained the foresaid charter of confirmation now ratified hereby to be as valid and effectual to the said bailies, council and community of the said burgh of Kirkcaldy, and their successors in all time coming, as if the foresaid donations, indenture and other rights and securities above-written had been word for word inserted in the foresaid charter of confirmation; with the which his majesty, with advice and consent foresaid, has by the tenor of the said charter dispensed perpetually. Likewise his majesty, with advice and consent foresaid, by the foresaid charter has of new erected the foresaid burgh of Kirkcaldy in a free royal burgh, and has given, granted, conveyed and confirmed, for his majesty and his successors, perpetually to the said bailies, council and community of the said burgh of Kirkcaldy, now present and to their successors in all time coming, all and whole the said burgh of Kirkcaldy, whole ground and lands thereof within the whole bounds and limits of the same used and wont, with courts, blood, bloodwit, wrack and wair, pit and gallows, and with all and sundry burgh mails and other duties of the said burgh, with the small customs, tolls, stellage, courts and amerciaments thereof, with the burgh acres and common muir, moss and muirlands with the territory of Kirkcaldy and other rights and pertinents whatsoever belonging thereto, with the foresaid port and haven places of the said burgh, and also all and sundry liberties, commodities, faculties, powers, privileges, immunities, easements and pertinents whatsoever, which in any time may be determined to pertain to a free royal burgh, port, harbour and haven place within this kingdom, or which, by the laws and consuetude of the same, may be determined to appertain thereto; with power to the said burgh to have and hold, within the same, a market cross and market day weekly with four free fairs to be held yearly in all time coming at the times and in manner specified in the said charter, and with power also to the said bailies, council and community then present, and to their successors in all time coming, to elect, create, make and constitute a provost, bailies, dean of guild, treasurer and all other members within the said burgh at Michaelmas [29 September] yearly, for administration of justice and governing of the said burgh, and to fix, affirm, hold and continue burgh courts, as is usual in other free royal burghs, as often as occasion shall require, with clerks, serjeants, dempsters, officers and other members of court necessary to make, create and constitute, delinquents to punish according to the laws of this kingdom, absents to amerciat and the amerciaments and escheats of court, with the imposition of free burgesses, small customs of the said burgh, and the customs of the said free markets and fairs and other duties and casualties which shall offer and fall out, to receive, uptake, dispose upon and appropriate to the common use and profit of the said burgh and, if need be, to poind and distrenzie for the same and to make laws and constitutions within the said burgh and territories thereof for good order within the same, and with power to accuse, amerciat, arrest and punish all transgressors and delinquents within the said burgh and liberties thereof, according to the laws of this kingdom. And by the which charter foresaid, his majesty, with advice and consent foresaid, gave, granted, conveyed and confirmed, for his majesty and his successors perpetually in time coming, to the said bailies, council and community of the said burgh, all and sundry ports and haven places of the said burgh and liberties thereof, either already built or which shall happen hereafter to be built within the bounds and territory of the same, with all privileges of free port and haven place; likewise his majesty gave, granted and conveyed to the said burgh all small customs, shore silver, anchorages and other duties of the said port and harbour, with power to use, possess and exercise the same and generally all other things to do, use and exercise anent these matters, as freely and in the same manner in all respects as any other burgh royal, port and harbour within this kingdom have bruiked and possessed at any time bygone, as the foresaid charter of confirmation containing the said new gift and erection of the date above-written, in itself at more length purports.
Likewise, our said sovereign lord, with advice and consent above-written, ratifies and approves an act of exchequer of the date 5 February 1644, whereby the commissioners and lords of exchequer, having considered the signature presented to them and superscribed by his majesty's late dearest father, bearing date at his court of Whitehall, 19 February 1636, of the self same tenor and contents as is above-written, whereby his majesty confirmed the foresaid indentures, gifts, donations and other rights foresaid in favour of the said burgh of Kirkcaldy, and of new erected the same in a free royal burgh, with the whole, liberties and privileges above-mentioned, and in respect of the change and alteration of his majesty's treasurer principal and depute since the date of the said first signature, the said commissioners and lords of exchequer, by their act of the date foresaid, ordained the foresaid new signature and charter to be passed and expedited his majesty's exchequer and seals, in the name and with consent of the commissioners and lords of exchequer then in office, and that in place of the foresaid first signature superscribed by his majesty's sacred hand in the said year of God 1636 and authenticated by the late William [Alexander], earl of Stirling, then secretary to his majesty, and which first signature foresaid by the said act of exchequer was ordained to be kept held back in exchequer for the said commissioners and lords of exchequer then in office, their warrant for passing of the said new signature and charter of the same tenor dated 5 February 1644; and also his majesty, with advice and consent foresaid, ratifies and approves the right, disposition and procuratory of resignation after-mentioned, made and granted by his majesty's right trusty cousin and councillor Charles [Seton], earl of Dunfermline, lord Fyvie and Urquhart, heritable bailie of the lordship and regality of Dunfermline,† to and in favour of the magistrates and council of the said burgh of Kirkcaldy then present, and to their successors perpetually in all time coming, of the date 24 February 1644, whereby the said Charles, earl of Dunfermline has sold, transferred, renounced and conveyed in favour of the said magistrates of the said burgh of Kirkcaldy then present, and to their successors perpetually in all time coming, all right, title and privilege of justiciary, bailiary and admiralty, with the said earl's right of bailiary of the said regality and bloodwits within the said burgh, and all other jurisdictions within the same burgh and bounds thereof, territory, sea ports appertaining thereto, so far as is competent or may be competent to the said earl, his heirs and successors, by virtue of the said offices of bailiary and admiralty and justiciary or any of them, and which the said earl and his foresaid may in any way claim or pretend thereto within the whole bounds of the territory and liberty of the said burgh, sea port and harbour of the same, together with all claim of right or jurisdiction which the said earl or his foresaids, or their bailie deputes, admiral deputes or justiciary deputes may have or claim thereto, from the date foresaid of the said disposition or since their possession of the same, together with the whole benefit of all bloodwits, amerciaments of courts, other profits, privileges, casualties and emoluments whatsoever which may appertain to the said earl or his foresaids as heritable bailies, justiciars or admirals within the bounds, territory or sea ports of the said burgh of Kirkcaldy, of whatsoever person or persons residing within the said burgh, territories and liberties thereof foresaid, and whereby the said earl of Dunfermline made and constituted the then present bailies, magistrates and council of the said burgh, and their foresaids in all time coming, the said earl and his foresaids their undoubted and irrevocable bailie deputes, admiral deputes and justiciary deputes within the whole bounds, territories, sea port and liberties of the said burgh of Kirkcaldy, as the foresaid disposition containing a procuratory of resignation with sundry other clauses and privileges therein-expressed, in itself more fully purports. And also his majesty, with advice and consent foresaid, ratifies and perpetually confirms all rights made to the said Charles, earl of Dunfermline, his authors and predecessors, of and concerning the foresaid offices of heritable bailiary, admiralty and justiciary of the said lordship and regality of Dunfermline, in so far as may be extended to the bailiary, justiciary or admiralty within the bounds, territory, sea port and liberty of the said burgh of Kirkcaldy made over and renounced by the said earl in favour of the said burgh, in manner above-mentioned, and in so far as the said rights made in favour of the said earl and his foresaids may fortify and strengthen the right and disposition above-written granted by him in favour of the said burgh of Kirkcaldy, in manner therein-contained; and also his majesty, with advice and consent above-written, ratifies and approves a right made and granted by the late Ludovic [Stewart], duke of Lennox, great admiral of Scotland, in favour of Queen Anne, his majesty's dearest grandmother, and the heirs lawfully then procreated or to have been procreated between her and his majesty's late dearest grandfather King James VI, of ever blessed memory, her husband, which failing to his majesty's said late dearest grandfather his heirs whatsoever of the date 24 December 1612, registered in the books of council and session upon 14 January 1613, whereby the said Ludovic, duke of Lennox, for him, his heirs and successors admirals of Scotland, acknowledged, ratified, approved and confirmed his majesty's said late grandmother and her foresaids their right, title and possession of all ships and seawrecks, accidents and casualties of all lands, seas, waters and others pertaining to the said lordship of Dunfermline, bordering, marching and confining with the lands thereof wherever the same lie within this kingdom, upon both sides of the water of Forth, and whereby he declared the said shipwrecks, seawrecks, accidents and casualties in no way to appertain to the said admiralty but to belong in property to his majesty's said late dearest grandmother and her foresaids, and to her heritable bailies of the said regality as proper parts and pertinents of the patrimony of the said lordship their office and jurisdiction of bailiary and justiciary thereof, and that he had no privilege nor jurisdiction upon any of the inhabitants of the said regality nor upon any person arriving or making their residence within the same, and whereby the said duke of Lennox renounced the said casualties, shipwrecks, seawrecks, accidents and jurisdictions from him and his foresaids to his majesty's said late dearest grandmother and her foresaids, and to their heritable bailies and justiciaries, with all right, title, interest, property or possession they had or in any way might have had or pretend thereto, and whereby he discharged all and sundry his admiral, deputes, his and their officers and serjeants then present and to come, of all accusing, arresting, calling, troubling, pursuing or in any ways proceeding against any of the persons dwelling, making residence, repairing, arriving or inhabiting the said lordship and regality or any part or haven thereof, built or to be built, and of all meddling and intromitting with any of the shipwrecks, sea or freshwater wrecks, accidents or casualties, within the said regality, seas or waters limiting or confining therewith, and of all profits and jurisdictions in that part for now and ever; and in like manner, his majesty, with advice and consent foresaid, ratifies and approves a charter granted to and in favour of the said burgh of Kirkcaldy under the great seal, bearing date 27 May 1650, giving and conveying to the magistrates and council of the said burgh of Kirkcaldy, and their successors magistrates and council of the said burgh forever, the office of bailiary of the regality of Dunfermline, with the said offices of justiciary and admiralty pertaining thereto within the said bounds, burgh of Kirkcaldy, territories of the same and whole ports, havens and harbours pertaining thereto, with diverse and sundry privileges, liberties, casualties and others particularly and generally specified therein pertaining and belonging to the said offices, proceeding upon the resignation of the said Charles, earl of Dunfermline etc., and containing also therein a confirmation of the foresaid right made and granted by the said duke of Lennox to his majesty's said late grandmother of the said admiralty, and of the rights of the said offices of bailiary, justiciary and admiralty made to the said earl of Dunfermline by his majesty's said late father, of blessed memory, and a novodamus of the said offices and a union thereof to the said burgh of Kirkcaldy and the former privileges and liberties pertaining thereto to remain inseparable as a part of the said burgh and patrimony thereof forever, as in the said charter at more length is contained, with the precept of sasine following thereupon and instrument of sasine given conforming thereto, dated 23 August 1650 foresaid.
Which charters, infeftments, dispositions, precepts and instrument of sasine, act of exchequer and other evidents, writs and rights particularly and generally above-written, together with two several former acts of parliament ratifying the same, bearing date at Edinburgh, 29 July 1644, his majesty, with advice and consent of his said estates of parliament, ratifies, approves and perpetually confirms in the whole heads, articles, clauses, circumstances and conditions thereof, in all and by all things in form and manner as is therein-expressed, and decrees, declares and ordains this present ratification and confirmation thereof to be as valid, effectual and sufficient as if the same were particularly set down and word for word engrossed herein; with the which and with all other defects and imperfections whatsoever that can or may be alleged or objected against the said charters, infeftments and other evidents and writs particularly and generally above-written, or against this present ratification and confirmation thereof, his majesty, with advice and consent foresaid, has dispensed and hereby dispenses forever.