[1663/6/75]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Our sovereign lord, considering the many laudable acts of parliament made by his majesty's royal predecessors for relief of the poor, and for constraining of beggars, vagabonds and idle persons, to take themselves to lawful callings that they might not be burdensome and disgraceful to the kingdom, especially the 74th act of the sixth parliament of his majesty's royal grandfather King James VI, of happy memory, ordaining the names of the poor of each parish, and such as must be necessarily sustained by alms, to be taken up, and to tax and stent the persons within the parish, according to the estimation of their substance, without exception of persons, to such weekly charges and contributions as should be thought sufficient to sustain the said poor people; and the 268th act of the fifteenth parliament of King James VI, ratifying the former act with this addition, that strong beggars with their bairns are to be employed in common works, and that they shall continue servants therein during their lifetime; and considering the tenth act of the second and twentieth parliament of his said royal grandfather King James VI, recommending to all his good subjects to take into their service poor and indigent children, declaring that they shall be subject to their said masters, their heirs and assignees in all kinds of service that shall be enjoined to them, until they pass their age of thirty years complete, and that they shall be subject to their master's correction and chastisement in all manner of punishment (life and torture excepted); and that if it shall happen the said persons absent themselves from their master's service, without their licence, not only to be liable to bodily punishment at their master's discretion, but that all receptors of them shall be obliged to restore them to their masters within twenty-four hours after they are required, otherwise to pay to their said masters 10s Scots for each day's absence until they are restored; and his majesty, considering that the chief cause whereby the foresaid acts have proven ineffectual, and that vagabonds and idle persons do yet so much abound, has been that there were few or no common works then erected in the kingdom which might take and employ the said idle persons in their service, and that now, by his majesty's princely care, common works for manufactories of diverse sorts are setting up in this kingdom; therefore his majesty, with advice and consent of his estates in parliament, ratifies and approves the foresaid acts of parliament, with this addition, that it shall be rightful to all persons or societies who have or shall set up any manufactories within this kingdom to seize upon and apprehend the persons of any vagabonds who shall be found begging or, who being masterless and out of service, have not wherewith to maintain themselves by their own means or work, and to employ them for their service as they shall see fit, the same being done with the advice of the respective magistrates of the place where they shall be seized upon; and ordains the parishes where such vagabonds or idle persons as shall be found begging, were born or, in case the place of their nativity is not known, the parishes where they have any residence, haunt, or most resort for the space of three years immediately preceding their being so apprehended, who thereby are relieved of the burden of them, to make payment to the persons or societies that shall happen to employ them 2s Scots money per day for the first year after they are apprehended, and 1s Scots per day for the next three years thereafter, the one half thereof to be paid by the heritors of the several parishes respectively and the other half thereof to be paid by the possessors and inhabitants dwelling upon the ground of each heritor respectively. Likewise, his majesty, with advice and consent foresaid, ordains the heritors of each parish, or as many of them as shall happen to meet upon public intimation made at the parish kirk upon any Sabbath at the dissolving of the church from the first sermon, by any of the heritors of the parish or by the employers of the poor, to make up a stent roll for maintenance of the poor in their parish, who shall be employed, as said is, at the rate aforesaid, the one half thereof to be paid by the heritors, either conforming to the old extent of their lands within the parish, or conforming to the valuation by which they last paid assessment, or otherwise as the major part of the heritors so meeting shall agree, liferenters and wadsetters always being liable during their rights as heritors, and the other half thereof to be laid upon the tenants and possessors according to their means and substance; and in case the said inheritors being required by any person or society employing the poor, as said is, shall fail to make up and deliver a stent roll in manner foresaid, with power to the persons, society or others entrusted by them to charge the heritors of each parish for the sum of 2s Scots per day for each one of their poor, whereof they shall be relieved in manner foresaid, conforming to the old extent or valuation foresaid at the option of the person or society employing, or those entrusted by them; which stent roll shall continue and stand for one year after the making up thereof, either by the heritors or in case of failure by the persons or societies employing the poor, as said is, and shall then be renewed from year to year during the years above-written, providing also that the heritors, in case they fail to make a stent roll, as said is, and are charged conforming to the old extent or valuation of their lands, that they shall have relief off the tenants and possessors of their lands for the one half of what they shall be distressed for. And his majesty, with consent foresaid, ordains letters of horning to be directed hereupon at the instance of the persons or societies employers of the poor, or persons entrusted by them, against the heritors and others for payment of the said daily allowance for the poor, or against the receptors of them being so employed for 10s Scots money per day upon fifteen days only, providing always that after examination of the case the lords of the privy council shall find cause for directing such letters. And ordains all sheriffs, stewarts, bailies of regality, principality, magistrates of burghs or justices of peace and their constables, to assist in the apprehending of the said vagabonds or in the bringing of them back to their service after they shall be employed; and strictly prohibits and discharges all persons whosoever to oppose or hinder the taking or bringing back of them in manner foresaid respectively, under the pain of deforcement. Likewise, it is hereby declared that the poor so employed shall continue in the service of the employers and under their direction and correction in manner foresaid, not only during the space of the maintenance to be paid for them by their parishes in manner above-written, but also for the space of seven years thereafter for meat and cloth only, declaring always, likewise it is hereby expressly declared, that the burgh of Ayr, or their inhabitants, shall in no way be comprehended herein, but are excepted herefrom in all points; and recommend and to the lords of the privy council to see this act and all former acts of parliament made against sturdy beggars and vagabonds put to execution, with power to them to supply by their order what shall be deficient as to the execution of the said acts.
[1663/6/76]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Anent a supplication presented to the estates of parliament by Dame Marie Leslie, lady Cranston, mentioning that the whole estate of the Lord Cranston, being forfeited and uplifted by the late usurpers, and the petitioner having no more than £30 sterling or thereby yearly out of the said estate during the years of forfeiture, for entertaining herself and numerous family of nine children and many servants, was thereby not only reduced to great straits and necessities, but also the said Lord Cranston, her husband, was forced to engage himself and his friends in great debts for the necessary subsistence of so numerous a family, and the said estate, before the said forfeiture, being burdened with great debts, for which no annualrents were paid during the time of the forfeiture, the said estate being intromitted with by the usurpers and the debts thereby increasing to a greater sum than the estate was able to bear, the Lord Cranston, for preventing the ruin which the rigidity of his creditors by comprisings and other legal executions threatened against his estate, was forced to make transactions with them, partly† by renewing of securities and converting annualrents into principal sums and condescending to their unreasonable and covetous desires, without any favour, ease or abatement of principal sums, annualrents or expenses, tending to the utter undoing of himself, his family and estate. And seeing he has been drawn to such disadvantageous agreements and transactions, and thereby forced to sell and put away diverse considerable baronies of land, the far better part of his estate, and that far within the worth, and to convey the house and lands of Cranston, the ancient and chief dwelling place of that family, in all conscience and equity it would seem very reasonable that he should be restored against anything done to his prejudice through the iniquity of these times, and the severity of his creditors and that so just and reasonable a remedy should rather be granted to him than to any other forfeited person who have not yet transacted with their creditors; humbly therefore, desiring that such favour may be allowed and extended to the Lord Cranston for restoring him against all deeds done to his hurt and loss as may be granted to any other in the like condition. Which supplication, being at length heard and considered by the estates of parliament, and they considering that, by the commission granted on 2 September instant concerning the payment of annualrents due by persons forfeited by the usurpers, it is provided that nothing to be done by virtue of that commission shall prejudice any creditor of the foresaid persons of any of the annualrents they have received for these years of the forfeiture by virtue of any voluntary transaction, or shall prejudice them of any other voluntary transaction or condition between the said creditors and debtors foresaid; the king's majesty, with advice and consent of his estates in parliament, does declare that the Lord Cranston is not to be comprehended within the forgoing clause, but is to have the benefit and deduction of annualrents conforming to the said commission, notwithstanding of any former transactions, reserving always to the creditors all their just defences to be considered by the commissioners mentioned in the said commission.
[1663/6/77]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
The estates of parliament, having heard a supplication presented to them in the name of the magistrates of the burgh of Whithorn, showing that the said burgh, being anciently erected in a burgh royal by his majesty's most noble progenitors, and having obtained a confirmation of their rights under his majesty's great seal, with the grant of two fairs yearly, the one upon 30 July, and the other upon 1 November, and finding the yearly fair of the neighbouring burgh of Wigtown to be upon the first Mondays of August and November, which often falls out to be the days whereon both the said burghs' yearly fairs are to be kept, and being desirous that neither of the said burghs should be prejudiced or disappointed of their said fairs, seeing both of them may be sufficiently served without encroaching one upon another; humbly therefore, desiring that the said two fairs of the burgh of Whithorn may be altered and appointed to be kept upon the first Thursday immediately preceding the Lammas [1 August] and Martinmas [11 November] fairs of Wigtown, as the supplication bears. Which being taken into consideration, the king's majesty, with advice and consent of his estates of parliament, has altered and changed and hereby alters and changes the foresaid two yearly fairs of the burgh of Whithorn from the said 30 July and and 1 November, and appoints and ordains the same two fairs to be kept and held yearly within the said burgh of Whithorn, in all time coming, upon the first Thursdays immediately preceding the Lammas and Martinmas fairs of the burgh of Wigtown, which are kept on the first Mondays of August and November, and to continue and endure for the same space, and with the like privileges granted to the said burgh of Whithorn by their charter above-mentioned.
[1663/6/78]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
The king's majesty, considering that the town of Preston, within the shire of Berwick, belonging to [James Douglas], marquis of Douglas, is a fit and convenient place for the neighbouring people to repair to for fairs and markets, and that there is no other market near them except at Duns, from which they are often impeded by the impetuosity of the river Whitewater†, running between, upon which there is no bridge; does therefore, with advice and consent of his estates of parliament, grant privilege to the marquis of Douglas, his heirs and successors, to hold and keep two yearly fairs in the said town of Preston, the one upon 9 June, and the other upon 26 September respectively, and to hold a weekly market every Tuesday, with power to the said marquis and his foresaids, by themselves, their factors and servants, to uplift the tolls, customs and casualties, and with all other privileges and immunities in the like cases used and wont.
[1663/6/79]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
The act of fines (containing a clause that the fines should be paid in to any person who should be appointed to receive the same by his majesty's commissioner) being produced, it was thought fit by the parliament that that clause should be deleted, which was accordingly done, and the same ordained to be void and null in any extracts already given out, and the act amended thus: to be paid in to any person his majesty should appoint to receive them.
A personal protection granted to [John Sinclair], lord Sinclair against all debts and civil causes for the space of one year after the date hereof.
The lord commissioner adjourns the parliament until Tuesday afternoon.