[1581/10/90]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Forasmuch as our said sovereign lord and his three estates of this present parliament, having perfectly seen and considered the infeftment heritably made by [Mary], his dearest mother, after the declaration of her perfect age in her parliament held at Edinburgh on [...] December 1564, to her well beloved brother Lord Robert Stewart, uncle to our said sovereign lord, and his heirs lawfully procreated or to be procreated of his body, which failing, to our sovereign lord's dearest mother and her successors freely to return, of all and whole the lands of Orkney and Shetland, with all and sundry isles pertaining thereto and their pertinents whatsoever, with all and sundry castles, towers, fortalices, woods, mills, multures, fishings, tenants, tenantries and service of free tenants, with the whole superiority of the free tenants, advocation and donation of kirks, benefices and chaplainries of the same and all their pertinents, and of the offices of the sheriffship of the sheriffdom of Orkney, and of the sheriffship and foudery of Shetland, with all privileges, liberties, fees and duties whatsoever pertaining to the said offices, as in the said infeftment at more length is contained, it is advised and concluded by this present parliament that the said infeftment was made and granted to the said Lord Robert Stewart, his heirs and assignees heritably, after dissolution made in plain parliament of the annexation of the said lands to the crown, that the same might be set in feu ferm to the said Lord Robert Stewart and his heirs aforesaid, as our said sovereign lord, by the advice of the said three estates, has duly and sufficiently tried; therefore our said sovereign lord and his said three estates in plain parliament have ratified, approved and confirmed and, by the tenor of this present act, ratify, approve and affirm the said infeftment of feu ferm in all the clauses, points, articles and circumstances thereof, and having consideration how far the said lands lie distant from the remainder parts of this realm and specially from the ordinary place of the supreme justice thereof, and that our said sovereign and his predecessors have had seldom resort thereto, the necessity of justice daily increasing as the multitude of the people grows, considering also the great trouble which the inhabitants of the said countries have suffered and may suffer by the continual invasion of them by the highland and broken men lying upon the west and north-west parts of this realm, and by pirates and strangers daily oppressing our said sovereign lord's people and lieges within the bounds of the said countries, which cannot be oppressed but by the power of a great and noble person making their continual residence, accompanied with force, amongst the inhabitants of the said countries; and also the yearly duty and feu as contained in the said infeftment, extending yearly to 3,010 merks in thankful payment, being respected and in so far as our sovereign lord's predecessors have been compelled to sustain an ordinary chamberlain for collecting of the duties of the said lands from the inhabitants thereof, to whom a great portion of the same has been of old subtracted for the poverty of the tenants and sterility of the ground, besides the travail and expenses sustained by transporting, carriage and hazard of the ferm victuals of the said lands by sea, in addition to the great fee and duty which was yearly paid out of his highness's revenues to the sheriff of Orkney and keeper of the castle of Kirkwall, tacksmen, officers and ferrymen, yearly surmounting the sum of £500 in victual, butcher meat, butter and mill multures, our said sovereign lord, by advice of the said three estates, after trial and full cognition taken, have considered the said infeftment to have been made to the said Lord Robert Stewart and his aforesaid for the good of the crown and realm, and, therefore, his majesty and three estates aforesaid find, declare and decree that the said Lord Robert, his heirs and successors aforesaid, duly and orderly by cognition in the cause and for the good of our said sovereign lord, his crown and realm, and specially of the inhabitants of the said countries of Orkney and Shetland, whereof our said sovereign lord and his said three estates of this present parliament have taken full cognition of new as said is, and our said sovereign lord, by advice aforesaid, for him and his successors, for the causes aforesaid and other great and weighty considerations presently treated and tried, finds, decrees and declares that the said infeftment is in all respects duly and lawfully made in the days of our sovereign lord's predecessor King James II of most noble memory, concerning the alienation and setting in feu ferm of lands annexed to the crown, and therefore our said sovereign lord, by advice aforesaid, will and grants that the same is and shall be irrevocable, of full effect, force and strength in all times hereafter, decreeing and declaring that the mention of the said dissolution contained in the said infeftment and in this present act shall in all respects be as sufficient to the said Lord Robert Stewart, his heirs and successors aforesaid and the same to have as great faith in judgement and outwith as if the original act of dissolution were shown. Moreover, our said sovereign lord, with advice aforesaid, has taken full cognition that the said Lord Robert Stewart and his heirs aforesaid are not able to execute justice in such manner as appropriate to the quietness of the said countries and inhabitants thereof, unless the casualties and escheats of the persons, offenders against the laws, and the bills and customs of strangers arriving to the said lands be conveyed, applied and given to the said lord and his aforesaid, through which they may the better occasion attend upon their offices; his highness therefore, having taken full consideration of necessity of administration of justice within the bounds aforesaid and that the casualties, penalties and escheats of the said offenders and transgressors have imported little or no profit to his highness or his predecessors in any times past, and that they may be better employed to them who, by themselves and their deputes, shall make continual residence for administration of justice and maintenance of good order within the bounds aforesaid, his highness and his said three estates of this present parliament, with full cognition in the cause and for the good and profit of the realm, have given and granted and, by the tenor of this act, give and grant to the said Lord Robert Stewart and his heirs lawfully procreated or to be procreated of his body, the office of justiciary within the said bounds, sheriffship and foudery, with all casualties, escheats and penalties pertaining thereto or that of old have pertained thereto and whereof the sheriffs and fouds of Orkney and Shetland respectively have been in possession heretofore, with full and plain power to the said Lord Robert Stewart and his heirs aforesaid to exercise the said offices of justiciary, sheriffship and foudery by themselves and their deputes, one or more, and with power also clerks, servants, dempsters and other members of court to create and deprive as shall be needful and expedient, giving, granting and committing to the said Lord Robert Stewart and his aforesaid heritable justices, sheriffs and fouds aforesaid his highness's full power, special mandate and charge, all and sundry inhabitants and indwellers within the said bounds, for whatsoever crimes and offences dilated, answered, accused and convicted, to punish as the cause requires, and to do justice upon them according to the laws of this realm as law will, precepts for summoning of inquests and assizes to compear before the said lord and his aforesaid justices, sheriffs and fouds above-specified, under the pain of law, at whatsoever day and place convenient, to cause be directed and executed, and with full power to the said lord and his aforesaids to uplift, receive and intromit with all and sundry escheats, penalties and other penalties due to our said sovereign lord by the inhabitants of the said lands of Orkney and Shetland for transgression of his highness's laws or for whatsoever other cause the same may be justly asked, with the whole wrack and waith that shall happen to be found in any time hereafter within the bounds of the said lands or sea coast thereof, together with all the toll and harbour silver accustomed to be paid before by whatsoever stranger or others arriving at any part of the said lands of Orkney and Shetland, and to convey thereupon freely to their own uses for their said attendance in administration of justice and exercising of the said offices; it is always declared that the great customs of goods and merchandise transported out of this realm and appertaining to our said sovereign lord are not, nor shall not, be comprehended under this present disposition, but shall remain with our sovereign lord and his successors as the same did before. And further, our said sovereign lord, having consideration of the good, true and thankful service done to his highness's dearest mother and himself by his said trusty cousin and their nearness of blood, and being of good will and mind that he shall be advanced in honours as appertains according to his highness's good deserving and tenderness of blood to our said sovereign lord, has, by the advice of the estates and this present parliament, erected and created, likewise his highness, by the tenor hereof, erects and creates the tenantry and lordship of the said lands of Orkney and Shetland, with all and sundry isles pertaining and belonging thereto and their pertinents whatsoever, with all and sundry castles, towers, fortalices, woods, mills, multures, fishings, tenants, tenantries and service of free tenants thereof, the whole superiority of the freeholders, advocation and donation of kirks, benefices and chaplainries thereof and all their pertinents, together with the offices of justiciary, sheriffship of Orkney and foudery of Shetland, with all privileges, liberties, fees and duties belonging and pertaining to the said offices, the whole penalties, escheats, casualties, wrack and waith aforesaid, with all their privileges, commodities and pertinents, in an earldom and lordship, to wit, the lands of Orkney, with the pertinents, annexes and connexes thereof, to be called the earldom of Orkney, and the lands of Shetland, annexes, connexes and pertinents of the same, to be called in all time coming the lordship of Shetland, and ordains the said Lord Robert Stewart, his heirs and successors aforesaid, to be called in all times hereafter earls of Orkney and lords of Shetland, giving and granting to them the title, honour, place and pre-eminence of an earl and lord in all parliaments, councils, conventions and assemblies whatsoever likewise and as freely as any earl and lord of parliament within this realm has possessed the honour, dignity and pre-eminence of an earl and lord of parliament of before. And, for the cause aforesaid, our said sovereign lord, with advice and consent aforesaid, has united, annexed, created and incorporated and, by this act, creates, unites, annexes and incorporates all and sundry the aforesaid earldom of Orkney and lordship of Shetland, with all and sundry isles pertaining thereto and their pertinents whatsoever, with all and sundry castles, towers, fortalices, woods, mills, multures, fishings, tenants, tenantries and service of free tenants, with the whole superiority of the free tenants, advocation and donation of kirks, benefices and chaplainries of the same and all their pertinents of the offices of justiciary, sheriffship of the sheriffdom of Orkney and of the sheriffship and foudery of Shetland, with all privileges, liberties, fees and duties whatsoever pertaining to the said offices, tolls and harbour silver, wrack and waith and others whatsoever particularly above-specified, in a tenantry, earldom and lordship to be called as said is; and wills and grants and, for his highness and his successors, with advice aforesaid, perpetually decrees and ordains that a sasine now to be taken by the said Lord Robert Stewart and his heirs aforesaid in time coming at the castle of Kirkwall shall stand, extend and be sufficient sasine for all and sundry the aforesaid lands of the said earldom of Orkney and lordship of Shetland, isles, castles, towers, fortalices, woods, mills, multures, fishings, tenants, tenantries, service of free tenants, advocation and donation of kirks, benefices and chaplainries of the same superiority, offices of justiciary, sheriffship of Orkney and foudery of Shetland, privileges, liberties, fees, duties, bills, harbour silver, wrack and waith and others whatsoever particularly above-specified, notwithstanding that the same lies not contiguous; concerning the which, our said sovereign lord, with advice aforesaid, dispenses for ever by this act and ordains a charter to be made hereupon under the great seal in the appropriate form, and precepts of sasine to be directed hereupon, to the which this act shall be sufficient warrant.