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Forasmuch as the exorbitant profit and usury taken for the lending of money is not only by the law of God condemned but likewise by his majesty's laws and acts of parliament restrained, and now understanding the great and enormous hurt which his majesty's subjects have sustained by the oversight of rigorous ockerers these diverse [years]† bygone, especially since the dearth of victual has increased so that the persons who lend their money to profit, not content to receive the ordinary annualrent thereof in silver prescribed by the act of parliament extending to 10 for each 100, or so much victual as might answer in common price to the proportion of the said annualrent, but under pretext of the said act of parliament, having vindicated to themselves greater liberty to exact more rigorous profit, has compelled the receivers of the money to pay in time of dearth the annualrent of two, three or four bolls' victual yearly for each 100 merks money, whereby the profit and annualrent paid in victual is either equivalent to the principal sum, at the least exceeds 30, 40 or 50 for the 100, to the extreme ruin of the poor lieges; who, for relief of their present necessity, are compelled to yield to whatsoever unlawful condition of profit the creditor pleases impose, either directly by infeftment or indirectly by bond, contract or other form of security maliciously devised to colour such ungodly and inordinate ocker not tolerable in a reformed and Christian commonwealth and expressly contrary to the meaning of the said act of parliament. And seeing it becomes his majesty of his princely duty not to suffer his laws and acts of parliament established in favour and for the comfort of his majesty's subjects to be converted to their hurt, as a snare to involve them in greater misery, but rather that his majesty and his estates, as authors of the law, should expound and interpret the meaning thereof agreeable to the occasion for which the same was statute, and that his majesty's laws should not appear to include a contrariety or permit that indirectly which by the express words and reason of the law is forbidden, his majesty, with advice of his estates, has thought expedient to make manifest and declare to his highness's subjects that the said act of parliament made in the parliament held at Edinburgh upon the [...] day of [...] the year of God 15[...] years regarding annualrents, ordaining the annualrent of 10 merks to be paid for each 100, or certain bolls of victual answering then in price thereto, was established in favour and for relief of the poor lieges oppressed with such intolerable ockery, wherein the intention of his majesty and his estates was that the silver and victual which was then of a low price should be reduced to a certain correspondence, making the silver annualrent as the price of the annualrent of victual, so that the profit might keep a reasonable proportion with the stock, answering either in victual or in silver to 10 for each 100 as the price of victual was then, and not to give occasion to insatiable creditors with the dearth of the victual to increase their cruelty by the misery of the poor lieges in their necessity, and to uplift for small principal sums such exorbitant profit as the price of victual in time of dearth would extend to; the which inordinate doing, the king's majesty and his estates presently convened, moved by the heavy complaint of the lieges to repress, and willing to put remedy thereto in time coming, has statute and ordained that none of his lieges take upon hand at any time hereafter to take any greater profit or annualrent for the lending of money, either by infeftment or by bond and contract directly or indirectly but 10 for the 100, under the pain of confiscation of all their moveable goods and gear, and to be otherwise punished in their persons as common ockerers according to the laws; and, for that effect, to be called and pursued at particular diets before the justice and his deputes to underlie the law for the same. And for this effect, that all infeftments, contracts or obligations made for payment of annualrent of victual at any time before the date hereof, that the victual therein contained shall be reduced in time coming after the publication hereof to such conformity of price as shall answer to 10 for the 100 only, so that the party indebted paying 10 for the 100, the same shall be as lawful as if they had paid the victual contained in the said infeftments. And because there are diverse persons who in defraud of the said act of parliament and meaning thereof herein declared obtains themselves infeft in the property of lands for small sums of money under reversion, and sets tack back again to the heritor or others to his benefit for payment of a great duty in silver or victual far exceeding the said profit of 10 for each 100; as also by contract, bond or obligation makes false form of buying and selling of victual to be delivered at a certain day, and, failing thereof, certain high prices liquidated therein, of intention only in defraud of the said act to recover with their principal sum such exorbitant ocker and profit as is directly forbidden herein. As likewise there are diverse persons who the time of the disbursing of the said sum which they lend to profit agrees with the party for the usury and ocker far exceeding the ordinary annualrent foresaid, and retains the same in their hands and takes their security by plain form of obligation or otherwise of the whole sum to be paid at a certain term as if no such exorbitant profit and ocker had been meant or allowed therein, therefore, and for remedy of the foresaid and similar frauds devised for the circumvention of the lieges, the laws and acts made in their favour for repressing of such inordinate ocker exceeding the quantity foresaid, it is statute and ordained that all such infeftments, bonds, contracts or obligations which shall happen to be made in manner foresaid after the publication hereof, in defraud of the said acts and statutes and for circumvention of the lieges astricting them to pay further profit in silver than according to 10 for the 100 or more silver than may be answerable in price to the annualrent in silver foresaid, in manner above-specified, shall be null and of no value, force nor effect, as if the same had never been made, notwithstanding whatsoever other coloured or pretended clause be inserted therein; and the said nullity upon the cause foresaid to be received summarily, as well as by way of exception and reply as by way of action, and to be tried by the oath of party and all other lawful probation conjoined therewith competent of the law whereby the said unlawful ocker may be verified to the judge, and the said nullity to be pursued by the party, his heirs, executors and assignees with concurrence of the king's advocate against the creditor, his heirs, executors and assignees notwithstanding whatsoever ratification of the bond and infeftment or renunciation of the said actions granted by the party, wherein it shall not be permissible to him to transact without his majesty's consent and licence granted to that effect. And the said infeftment, bond and obligations being reduced, the king's majesty and his donator to have undoubted right to the principal sum which was delivered, together with the ordinary annualrent of all years and terms bygone unpaid; and the party to have repetition of whatsoever exorbitant profit he has paid exceeding the ordinary annualrent foresaid in case he concurs with his highness's advocate in the said reductions, otherwise to be debarred from the repetition of any sums paid by him. The king's majesty always, his advocate and donator to have full right in their persons to pursue the reductions and annulling of the said securities for the causes foresaid, albeit the principal party refuse to concur with them therein. And that letters of publication be directed hereupon in the appropriate form.