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Our sovereign lord and estates of parliament, considering that by a signature under his majesty's royal hand, of the date at Whitehall, 25 May 1661, and passed and expedited under his majesty's great seal, his majesty, for the causes therein contained, ratified, approved and confirmed the charter and infeftment made and granted by King James III, under his highness's great seal, at Edinburgh, 31 March 1486, to and in favour of the provost, bailies, council and community of the burgh and city of Kirkwall in Orkney, and their successors of the said burgh and city of Kirkwall, port and haven thereof, liberties, privileges, freedoms, immunities pertaining and belonging thereto; together also with another charter and infeftment made and granted by King James V, under his highness's great seal, dated at Edinburgh, 8 February 1536, to and in favour of the provost, bailies, council and community of the said burgh and city of Kirkwall, and their successors of the said burgh and city of Kirkwall, port and haven thereof, lands, kirks, teinds, customs, anchorages, liberties, privileges, freedoms and immunities belonging thereto; as also, a commission granted by his majesty's dearest grandfather King James VI, of blessed memory, under his highness's great seal, to certain persons therein contained to be justices and commissioners for keeping the peace within the sheriffdom of Orkney, and to the provost and bailies of the said burgh of Kirkwall, to be justices of peace within their bounds and jurisdiction, with the instructions annexed to the same, which commission is of the date 28 August 1610; and all other charters, infeftments, precepts and instruments of sasine, confirmations, new gifts, donations, concessions, mortifications, commissions, acts, decreets and whole other evidents, writs, rights, titles and securities whatsoever, with the whole liberties, privileges, freedoms, immunities, profits and casualties therein contained, of whatsoever nature, kind or quality the same be of, made, given and granted to the provost, bailies, council and community of the said burgh and city of Kirkwall, or in any way conceived in their favour, and all and sundry other rights, liberties, privileges, immunities, easements, freedoms, profits, commodities and possessions whatsoever which the said burgh and city of Kirkwall does enjoy or has enjoyed or might or should have enjoyed in any time bygone, of whatsoever date or dates, tenor, contents, nature or quality the same writs, rights and securities be of, in all and sundry heads, articles, clauses, conditions and circumstances thereof whatsoever. And further, his majesty, in corroboration of the foresaid charters and rights, and without derogation, hurt or prejudice thereto, did of new give, grant and convey to the said provost, bailies, council and community of the said burgh and city of Kirkwall, and their successors for ever, all and whole the foresaid burgh and city of Kirkwall, with the port, haven and harbour thereof, together with all and sundry houses, biggings, tenements, waste places, oysses† wherein the sea flows, yards, tofts, crofts, quoys, mills, mill dams, multures, sucken, sequels, lochs, waters, watergangs, kirks, chapels, chaplainries, prebendaries, schools, school-lands, rights of patronage and others generally and particularly specified and set down in the said signature, together with all and sundry privileges, liberties, freedoms, immunities, customs, tolls, anchorages, profits, duties and commodities whatsoever pertaining to the said burgh and city of Kirkwall, port, haven and harbour thereof, or that may be in any way known to pertain and belong thereto. And further his majesty, in corroboration of the said former infeftments and rights, and without derogation, hurt or prejudice thereto, did of new unite, create and incorporate the foresaid burgh and city of Kirkwall, and that part thereof called the Laverik, in a whole and free royal burgh, with all and sundry liberties, privileges, freedoms, immunities and jurisdictions whatsoever which, by the laws and custom of this kingdom, have pertained, now pertains or at any time hereafter can or may pertain or belong to any royal burgh in any manner of way, and enjoying and possessing within the said burgh and bounds thereof forever a merchant guildry, with the dean of guild courts, council and whole members belonging thereto, whole liberties and privileges thereof, likewise and as freely in all respects as has been granted, enjoyed and possessed by any other royal burgh within this kingdom of Scotland, with power to the said provost and bailies, dean of guild and council of the said burgh and their successors, in all time thereafter, to nominate and elect a provost, four bailies, dean of guild and treasurer and council yearly, being burgesses and inhabitants of the said burgh, with clerks, officers, sergeants and all other members of court needful that belongs to any other royal burgh for ruling of the said burgh within the bounds and territory thereof, as often as need be, and the sums of money paid by burgesses for their freedom in the said burgh to be applied to the commonweal of the same burgh, and with special, full and free power to the burgesses and freemen of the said burgh to tap and sell wine, wax, cloth as well linen as woollen, large and broad as narrow, and all other kinds of merchandise called staple goods, or any other kind of merchant ware whatsoever, and to export and import the same as freely, in all respects in every way of merchandising, as any burgesses or freemen does or may do in any other free royal burgh within this kingdom, with power also to the said provost, bailies and council of the said burgh and their successors to admit and receive within the said burgh bakers, brewers, fishers, butchers, tailors, shoemakers, weavers, waulkers, smiths, wrights, masons and all other artificers and craftsmen necessary pertaining and belonging to the liberty of a free royal burgh, and with power to the said craftsmen to use and exercise the said crafts, likewise and as freely as the same are used and exercised in any other royal burgh, and with power likewise to the said provost, bailies, council, burgesses and community of the said burgh, and their successors, to build a prison house or tolbooth within any part of the said burgh that they shall think most convenient, with a tron and all other office houses necessary for the common welfare of the said burgh, and to keep, hold and enjoy markets weekly on Tuesday and Friday, together with three free fairs in the year, to be held at the times therein set down, and with power to them to collect, uplift and receive the small customs and tolls of whatsoever goods coming and going in and out of the said burgh, as also to intromit with, uplift and receive the customs of meal markets, malt markets, bear markets, salt markets, horse and nolt markets, fish and butcher-meat markets, cloth markets and all other markets, with the whole customs and duties of the tron of the said burgh, and of the yearly fairs and weekly markets thereof, and the whole shore duties, tolls, customs, anchorages of the sea port, haven and harbour, as well by land as sea, and the same to be applied to the common welfare of the said burgh, with power in like manner to the said provost and bailiffs of the said burgh and their successors, to receive resignations of all and sundry houses, biggings, tenements, lands, annualrents, yards, tofts, crofts, quoys, hills, nesses and others whatsoever, lying within the said burgh, liberty and territory thereof, and to give and convey the same to whomsoever person or persons with infeftments, sasines and all other writs necessary, together with burgh courts twice in the week, namely, on Tuesday and Saturday, to set, affix, affirm and hold the same within the said burgh as often and so often as need be, and to make, create and continue clerks, officers, sergeants, dempsters and all other members of court needful, transgressors, after the form of law, to punish and the unlaws of the said courts to uplift and for the common welfare of the said burgh to apply and to poind and distrenzie thereof, with power also to the said provost, bailies and council of the said burgh, and their successors, to make and set acts, statutes and ordinances for the good and profit of the burgh and for defending the liberties thereof, agreeing to the acts of parliament to be observed by the burgesses and inhabitants of the said burgh, and all other persons coming and resorting thereto in all time coming, under such pains and penalties as shall seem good to the said magistrates, and to put into execution the said acts and ordinances, with all acts of parliament and other acts, decreets and sentences in so far as the same may agree with the laws of this kingdom. And for the better execution thereof, his majesty made and constitute the said provost and bailies of the said burgh of Kirkwall, and their successors, judges competent within the said burgh, and with power likewise to the said provost and bailiffs and council and their successors, to elect a commissioner for all parliaments, and to sit and voice therein and in respect of their inability and remoteness, his majesty dispensed with their not sending a commissioner to the parliament and with liberty to them to send a commissioner at their own convenience if they should think fit, and generally with all and sundry other privileges, liberties, freedoms and immunities whatsoever pertaining and belonging to any other free burgh royal, all to be held of his majesty and his successors in free burgage for yearly payment of the sum of 5 merks Scots money, at the feast of Whitsunday [May/June] yearly, in name of burgh mail and with service of burgh used and wont only, as the foresaid signature, of the date above-written and charter following thereupon, in itself at more length bears. Likewise also our said sovereign lord and estates of parliament, considering that there is no royal burgh within the sheriffdom of Orkney and Isles thereof, except the said burgh of Kirkwall, and that the same burgh, through the remoteness thereof from the place of justice, has been hindered, impeded and restrained in the free exercise and enjoyment of their liberties and privileges by several persons who have usurped and encroached thereupon, and his majesty and estates foresaid, understanding how necessary it is that his majesty have a royal burgh in each sheriffdom for publishing his majesty's proclamations at the market cross thereof, and for execution of all letters and other papers thereat, do conceive it fit now, after the annexation of the earldom of Orkney to his majesty's crown, not only to ratify the foresaid charter and infeftment passed under his majesty's great seal in favour of the said burgh, but also to give all due encouragement to them and their successors for bruiking the same in all time coming. Therefore our sovereign lord and estates of parliament foresaid have ratified, approved and confirmed and, by this act, ratify, approve and perpetually confirm the foresaid signature passed under his majesty's royal hand, of the date, tenor and contents above-specified, together with the foresaid charter, under his majesty's great seal following thereupon, with the precept and instrument of sasine following upon the same, in all and sundry heads, articles, clauses, tenor and contents thereof, circumstances and conditions therein contained, after the form and tenor of the same, and declare, statute and ordain that this present general ratification thereof is and shall be as valid, effectual and sufficient, in all respects, as if the same charter were word for word inserted in this present act of parliament, dispensing with the not inserting thereof herein, and with all other exceptions and objections that may be proposed or alleged against the validity thereof by any person or persons whosoever, or against this present ratification of the same. It is always hereby declared that the foresaid charter and this present ratification thereof shall be restricted to and import only a right of erection of the said burgh into a royal burgh, with sea port and all privileges belonging to royal burghs as royal burghs, and that the same shall be no further extended, either as to lands or liberties, or otherwise above-mentioned without prejudice always of the former charters and rights to the same as appropriate, which are neither to be in better case nor worse by the said charter; and this present ratification thereof foresaid, as also it is hereby declared, that the foresaid charter or this present ratification thereof shall not prejudice the bishop of Orkney of his patrimony and privileges belonging to him, or of any part thereof, and that he and his successors shall be in the same case as they were before the making and granting of the said charter and this present ratification of the same.