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Articles of accusation and indictment given in to my lord commissioner, his grace, and estates of parliament by Francis Kinloch, late dean of guild, John Johnston, George Drummond, William Hay, David Boyd, Charles Charters and Robert Baird, late bailies†, against Sir Andrew Ramsay of Abbotshall
Forasmuch as in all well-governed kingdoms the mutual confidence which ought to be between princes and their subjects, and which is the true and solid foundation of tranquillity and peace in the just government of the prince and faithful obedience of the subjects, and the methods and artifices which evil-disposed persons do fall upon to break this mutual confidence by slanders and misrepresentation are provided for by strict and positive laws; and more especially in this his majesty's ancient kingdom of Scotland there have been from time to time laws made to secure concord and confidence between his majesty and his subjects, and to obviate slanders, lies, and misinformation; and particularly by the 43rd act of the 2nd parliament of King James I, it is expressly statute that all leasing makers and tellers of them which may engender discord between the king and his people shall be challenged by them that have power and sanction the loss of life and goods, which is according to that ancient statute of King Robert I, chapter 20 of his first statute, whereby it is defended and forbidden that any man be an inventor of a narration or of rumours by which occasion discord may arise between the king and his people; and which acts are ratified and confirmed by several subsequent laws and acts of parliament; and particularly by the 205th act of the 14th of James VI entitled 'Anent leasing makers and authors of slanders'. And forasmuch as by the common law and law and practice of this kingdom, those who are of his majesty's privy council are obliged to give true and honest council in all matters concerning his majesty and his realm, and to give his majesty true and just information in the concerns of his kingdom, to which they are sworn at the time of their admission; as also the lords of his majesty's exchequer are obliged by their oaths taken by them for the due and just administration of their office to give his majesty such advice anent all signatures to be passed there as may best consist with his royal bounty, and with regard to the just interests of his subjects whose affections his highness has been ever pleased to account his chiefest treasure. And likewise all magistrates of royal burghs by their offices are bound and obliged to put his majesty's laws effectually into execution; and particularly those laws and acts of parliament, namely the fifth act of the second session of his majesty's first parliament entitled 'An act to be signed by all persons in public trust', and whereby also magistrates of burghs are held and obliged publicly in face of the court to subscribe the declaration, and if they should exercise the said office before subscribing thereof, they are to be punished as usurpers of his majesty's authority. And by the second act of the 3rd session of his majesty's first parliament, all magistrates within burgh who shall either continue in or be of new elected shall at their election sign the declaration. And in the same manner by the laws and acts of parliament, and particularly by the 29th act of the 5th parliament of James III, by the 80th act of the 6th parliament of James IV and by the 8th act of the 20th parliament of James VI, magistrates and officers of royal burghs are appointed to continue no longer than for one year and to be yearly changed, and to be honest, prosperous and trafficking burgesses, and that no other persons are capable thereof. And by the common law and law and practice of the kingdom, all magistrates of royal burghs should demean themselves in the exercise of their offices with moderation and regard to their fellow burgesses, nor should they divide the burgesses in faction and parties, nor sordidly endeavour their own election or continuance in office. And by the 36th act of the 3rd parliament of James IV, and 181st act of the 13th parliament of James VI, it is statute and ordained that the common good of burghs should be disposed of by the advice of the council and deacons of crafts for the common affairs of the burgh. Notwithstanding whereof true it is and of verity that the said Sir Andrew, being elected provost of the said burgh in [...], he has, contrary to the said laws and acts of parliament, continued himself in the said office hitherto. And albeit for the good and well of the said burgh it is necessary that the offices of magistracy therein are according to the said laws communicated to persons capable thereof once at least in the two years, that they may be acquainted with the affairs and concerns of the burgh, and that beyond all controversy the honest and faithful administration thereof is a great burden and of loss to persons in their private fortune rather than advantage, and wherein no man covets to continue without ambitious, sordid designs, yet the said Sir Andrew, notwithstanding the citizens and burgesses did complain thereat, as if his estate and fortune had depended upon the enjoyment of this office, has used many dishonest methods and contrivances to fix himself therein; and wherein he has so prospered and succeeded these 10 years past that it has not been hitherto in the power of the good, honest neighbours to remove him therefrom, for which effect he has ever endeavoured to make and keep up faction within the burgh. And knowing the deacons of crafts make a great party in the election, it has been his usual and ordinary method when the crafts did give in six of their own number to have out a list of three for election, to give out three persons whereof very often none of them are contained in the list given in. And one of the three being of his own faction and party, he is in use to join another two persons, who being ordinarily beggars subsisting upon the charity of their calling or profligate and debauched persons such as the deacons of crafts cannot choose least it should dishonour and discredit their calling. Of necessity, the election which otherwise ought to be free of honest and prosperous persons of their craft, must fall upon the person of whom he, the said Sir Andrew, has confidence. By which method and artifice, having secured to himself a considerable number of the crafts, he is still sure to carry the list and election of magistrates and council as he thinks fit. And so having made up the council of persons who for the majority he confides in, he disposes of the common good of the burgh at his pleasure. And if any members of the council speak against these proceedings, he is in use by threats and menaces of imprisonment, reproachful and contumelious expressions (such as the calling them openly in council cheats, rascals, villains, knaves and unworthy to sit beside him) to deter them from making opposition to what he designs and contrives. And albeit by the laws and acts of parliament before mentioned the common good should be disposed of by common advice in council, and the whole deacons of crafts ought to be called thereto, yet he has been in use, with advice of such of the council as he had confidence in, to dispose thereof without calling of the said crafts. And albeit the complainers did for several years sit silent under such abuses, yet in 1672, he, the said Sir Andrew, being promoted by his majesty to be a senator of the college of justice, and the complainers and the people of the good town conceiving that after his promotion to the said office he would not endeavour to continue any longer in the magistracy of the burgh, yet, at the time of election, finding that he used his former artifices for continuing himself there, they thought themselves in duty obliged by all legal procedure to oppose his election. And for that effect they did protest against his election as contrary to the laws and acts of parliament before mentioned anent the continuance of persons in magistracy, and particularly upon that 9th act of the 20th parliament of James VI, whereby it is statute and ordained that only trafficking burgesses should be magistrates; and seeing by his promotion to be a senator of the college of justice, he could not be looked upon in the order and rank of a trafficking burgess, nor could he (in regard of his promotion) attend the office of a provost to moderate at the council table because for a full half year it was necessary that he attended the session. And thereupon at the time of his election, having in civil and sober manner protested for remedy of law and having intended process for that effect, he, for deterring the complainers and the good people of the town from quarrelling his election, did most wickedly and falsely upon 4 or 5 October 1672, or on one or other of the days of the said month, inform his grace, his majesty's commissioner and sole secretary, to the effect his majesty might be acquainted therewith, that there was a factious protest made against his election, and that there was a tumultuous convention of the people about the council house and in the parliament court at the time of the election. And being challenged by some persons present with him at the time why he would give such information to his majesty anent the inhabitants of the burgh without any ground, he maliciously and presumptuously answered that he never raised the devil but he could lay him again. And with which accordingly his majesty was acquainted and did require the lords of his privy council to make strict inquiry into the said tumult and authors and fomenters thereof, and seeing the complainers and the good town have been ever studious of obedience to his majesty's laws and that there can be nothing more grievous to them than to be represented as factious, seditious and tumultuary, who do humbly acknowledge that in all their deportment they ought to walk exemplarily to the rest of the burghs of the kingdom. And in regard the said Sir Andrew, contrary to his trust and office as a privy councillor and to the gratitude and obligation that he owes the burgh, did for his own sordid and dishonest designs falsely inform his majesty of the procedure of the complainers and the inhabitants of the town as factious and tumultuary, without any ground or shadow of truth for the said information; and what in him lay to beget a dissidence in his majesty of the sincerity of his subjects' affection and obedience, and so to gender discord between his majesty and the inhabitants of this burgh, the metropolis of this kingdom, therefore the said Sir Andrew, as he who abused and informed his majesty without any ground or reason against his good subjects, has therein grossly lied to his majesty and has incurred the pains of the aforesaid act of parliament. And to make it further appear that the said Sir Andrew did the same merely out of design to breed in his majesty an evil opinion of the complainers and the inhabitants of the burgh who did withstand and oppose his election and not from any zeal for his majesty's service, it is to be considered, firstly, that if there had been a real tumult (as there was not the least shadow of a tumult) there needed no immediate application to his majesty to complain thereof, because by the 17th act of the 18th parliament of James VI, the magistrates of royal burghs are sufficiently empowered for settling tumults and punishing the authors thereof, so that, albeit there had been any disorderliness, he ought to have had that tenderness and respect to the burgh by the authority of his place to have repressed and punished the same, and should not have endeavoured to irritate his majesty against the good towns. Secondly, he ought to have applied himself to the lord chancellor, who was then in town, who, if there had been any of the least pretence for a tumult, would have convened his majesty's council to have taken order relating thereto, and would have commanded his majesty's forces then in the city to have repressed the same.
Secondly, albeit by the aforesaid 5th act of the 2nd session and the 3rd act of the 1st session of his majesty's 1st parliament, the declaration is appointed to be signed by the magistrates and members of the council of burghs publicly in the face of council; and that he, the said Sir Andrew as provost of the said burgh, should not only have taken the declaration himself before he entered to the exercise of his office, but also he should have been careful that the rest of the magistrates, members of council and other persons carrying public office should sign the same in court. Yet true it is that for the space of five years after the said act he exercised the office of provost within the said burgh without taking the declaration; and when, by authority of the council, he was required to cause the magistrates and council to take the declaration, he was so far from enjoining it to them and seeing the same signed at the council table that a paper containing the declaration was sent to the houses of some of the councillors and returned with a subscription thereat, which whether the true subscription of the party or not is not known to the magistrates and council, who ought to have seen the same publicly subscribed. Likewise, at the time of the election at Michaelmas [29 September] 1672, he, the said Sir Andrew, having procured James Riddell to be listed and elected councillor, he did not at the time of the election offer to him the aforesaid declaration to be signed. And the lords of his majesty's privy council having appointed some of their number to assist at the last election, and some of the members having excepted against the said James that he could not vote in regard he had not signed the declaration, which, being offered to him, he absolutely refused to sign, yet after he was removed off the council and another put in his place the said Sir Andrew, in his contempt of his majesty's laws and of the established order for taking of the declaration, did immediately after the election by his faction and prevalence in the council procure the said James to be nominated and elected bailie of Leith, which is a place of great trust, where yet he exercises the said office and has not signed the declaration, whereby he has egregiously malversed in his office to the neglect and contempt of his majesty's service and execution of his laws.
Thirdly, albeit by several laws and acts of parliament, and especially by the 64th act of the 5th parliament of James VI, the convention of burghs is authorised, and by perpetual custom inviolably observed the burghs in time of parliament may meet together and have a public place of meeting when the parliament sits; and when the parliament sits at Edinburgh they have been in use to sit in the town council house as their occasions requires; yet the said Sir Andrew did in a meeting of the said burghs upon the [...] day of November instant, in a most contemptuous manner, relinquish the said burghs, being chosen their president for the time, protesting and declaring that they could not lawfully sit without him, pretending that he was their head. And for further disgracing the convention of burghs, he did by his power within the said burgh debar them from sitting in their usual place of meeting and necessitated them to meet in a public tavern; and thereby did affront the body of the burghs which is an estate of parliament.
Fourthly, albeit the lords of his majesty's exchequer are bound in duty and by their oaths of fealty to give his majesty just and true advice in the disposal of his majesty's casualties, likewise his majesty, of his royal bounty and out of the affection that he has for his subjects, has been ever in use to dispose of his casualties so as that for inconsiderable compositions his subjects who are either interested as proprietors or creditors do frequently find his favour in remitting of those just dues which by the law and privilege of the crown he has right to. Notwithstanding whereof the said Sir Andrew (albeit one of the lords of his majesty's exchequer and neither having interest as creditor nor proprietor in the lands of Knock, but on the contrary having sold the said estate with consent of Mr James Fraser, who was heritor thereof for the time, for a full price, whereof he received the greatest part himself) did thereafter procure from his majesty a gift of recognition of the said lands as come in his majesty's hands by the infeftment thereof granted to himself and which was the title whereby he conveyed the same and that in the name of his son; and had the confidence to offer the same in exchequer, intending thereby to prejudice the creditors of the said estate and the three poor daughters, the heritors having taken the gift without their knowledge or advice and having no interest as said is. And upon a competition between him and Skelmorlie who had bought the said lands for a full price, the lords of exchequer found it their duty to prefer Skelmorlie to the gift, and appointed the aforesaid gift procured by the said Sir Andrew to be put in the hands of his majesty's commissioner that the same might be cancelled as being unjustly procured for the reasons represented in exchequer and thereafter represented to his grace; the procuring of which gift by a person who was honoured to be a member of his majesty's exchequer and who had sold the lands and received the price was a deed against common honesty and of great malversation of a person of his trust.
Of the which crimes generally and particularly above set down and other malversations and misdemeanours above rehearsed the said Sir Andrew is guilty, and which, being verified and proven and so found by his grace and the estates of parliament, he ought to be punished according to the laws and acts of parliament made relating thereto and customs of the kingdom in such.
These articles are given in under protestation that it shall be permissible to the complainers or any others of the good neighbours within the town to add further articles of indictment and complaint during the dependence of this process anent all other malversations in his office and particular injuries done to them during the same.
28 November 1673
It is the opinion of the lords of the articles that this affair be remitted to the judge ordinary.