[A1596/12/13/1]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
†Our sovereign lord, with consent of the lords of his secret council, session and exchequer, forasmuch as his highness, with consent of his three estates of parliament, in the year of God 1584, understanding what great harm and inconvenience has fallen in this realm through the wicked and licentious public and private speeches and untrue calumnies of diverse his subjects, to the disdain, reproach and contempt of his majesty, his council and proceedings and to the dishonour and prejudice of his highness, his parents, progenitors and estate, stirring up his highness's subjects thereby to resentment, seditious unquietness and to cast off their due obedience to his majesty to their own evident peril, loss and destruction, his highness always continuing in love and clemency towards all his good subjects and most willing to seek their safety and preservation, therefore it was then statute and ordained by his highness and estates of parliament that none of his subjects of whatsoever function, degree or quality in time coming should presume or take upon hand privately or publicly in sermons, declamations or familiar conferences to utter any false or slanderous speeches to the disdain, reproach or contempt of his majesty, his council and proceedings, or to the dishonour, hurt or prejudice of his highness, his parents or progenitors, or to meddle in the affairs of his highness and his estate then present, bygone or to come under the pains contained in the acts of parliament made against makers and tellers of leasings between his majesty and his subjects, which is the pain of death; certifying them that should be tried contraveners thereof, or that hears such slanderous speeches and reports not the same with diligence, that the said pain shall be executed against them with all rigour in example of others, as in the eighth statute of the said parliament 1584 at more length is contained. In the which also by another act his majesty's royal power and authority above all estates, both spiritual and temporal, was established, and therefore it was ordained that no person of whatsoever function or degree, spiritual or temporal, should decline his majesty's judgement in any matters of sedition and treason and other civil and criminal causes or in any contumelious, seditious or treasonable speeches uttered by them in pulpits, schools or otherwise, to the disdain and reproach of his highness, his council and proceedings under the pain of treason, as in the said other act at more length is contained. And by reason the said wicked and licentious form of speaking publicly in sermons and pulpits and meddling with the affairs of estate daily increases by public impugning of his majesty's lawful acts of parliament, council and proclamations following thereupon, with his majesty's lawful decreets in civil matters given with advice of his grace, nobility and council, his majesty's royal power and authority in all civil and criminal matters of sedition and treason being brought in doubt and question as though his majesty were not judge to any speeches of whatsoever quality uttered in pulpit, or that the said places for uttering of God's word in truth and verity should be a security and immunity to false, seditious and treasonable words and a cause of declining his majesty's judgement therein; as also the same is most negligently suffered by the auditors thereof, testifying thereby in a manner their consents specially by magistrates and men of power to whom the execution of all good laws and maintenance of his majesty's authority properly pertains; therefore it is statute and ordained, with consent foresaid, that each sheriff, stewart, bailie of regality, provost, bailies and council within burghs, noblemen, barons and gentlemen of power to landward, and each one of them jointly and severally who shall be present auditors and hearers of any such false or slanderous, seditious or treasonable speeches uttered in pulpits, public sermons or otherwise, in reproach, contempt and disdain of his majesty, his parents and progenitors, his highness's council or proceedings or meddling in any way with the affairs of his grace's estate present, bygone and to come, shall immediately stop and interrupt the sayers and utterers thereof and shall take and apprehend them and put them in sure imprisonment until his majesty be advertised to take further order therein; at the least shall stop, stay and impede the said sayers and utterers of the said false, slanderous, seditious or treasonable speeches of all further preaching in the said kirks and pulpits or within any private houses, their bounds and jurisdictions respectively where they have sufficient power to make the said stop and impediment under the pain of horning and escheating of all their moveable goods and gear pertaining to the said sheriffs, stewarts, bailies of regalities, provost, bailies and council within burgh, noblemen, barons and gentlemen of power to landward, and each one of them jointly and severally who shall be present, hearers and auditors of the said false, slanderous, seditious or treasonable speeches foresaid respectively and shall not interrupt the same and apprehend, keep and detain the utterers thereof, at the least who shall suffer the utterers to reproach or declaim publicly or privately any more within their bounds and jurisdictions foresaid; and that letters be directed by his majesty or at his highness's advocate's instance charging the said sheriffs, stewarts, bailies of regalities, provost, bailies and council of burghs, noblemen, barons and gentlemen of power to landward and each one of them respectively, to put the foresaid act of parliament and this present act to due execution under the pain foresaid within 48 hours after they and each one of them be charged thereto under the pain of rebellion etc.; and if they fail etc., to denounce etc. And that the trial thereof shall come in most summarily by suspension by way of supplication and charge to a macer to summon the said advocate to the morning after the charge, to be obtained by the party charged, and to be decided summarily before his majesty and council, in case the party charged deny all bygone contravention hereof, and offer to find sufficient responsible caution under great sums in case he be found to have contravened, and for obedience in time coming. Without prejudice always to his majesty's right and power to seek further pains such as the pain of life or the pain of life, lands and goods competent to his majesty against the non-revealers of leasings, sedition and treason respectively according to the quality of the said speeches respectively which shall be publicly uttered and not stopped and revealed by the persons foresaid, hearers thereof, according to the old lovable laws, ordinances and custom of this realm in pursuit of seditious and treasonable persons. And that this present act and statute be intimated by public proclamation at the market crosses of the head burghs of this realm, that none pretend ignorance thereof.