[1600/11/70]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Our sovereign lord and estates of this present parliament, considering the great, thankful and honourable service done to [Mary], his majesty's late mother of good memory, to his majesty's self and to the honour of the whole nation of Scotland by James, archbishop of Glasgow, in the parts of France, by using of the office of ambassador to the honour of his majesty and whole realm of Scotland, without any appropriate recompense, and yet, by injury of time, the said archbishop has been debarred from his benefice of Glasgow, and has never†hitherto since his departure out of this realm imported any commodity out† of the same, nor never has been restored effectually to his right and place of the said archbishopric, until lately in the month of June 1598, that our said sovereign lord and estates, considering the said archbishop's good service and merits, as likewise being moved by the suits of diverse foreign kings and princes and faithful promise made to them by his majesty, his majesty and estates foresaid restored the said archbishop to his heritages, honours, dignities, benefices, offices, lands, rooms, possessions, actions which at any time ever pertained to him of before within the realm of Scotland and that notwithstanding whatsoever doom and sentence of forfeiture, decreet of barratry, horning, acts of parliament and council, and excommunication, and declare the act and benefit of pacification made at Perth in the month of February 1572 [1573], ratified in his highness's parliament in the month of April 1573, and the act of pacification and abolition made at Linlithgow in the month of December 1585 and the act made in the month of July 1587 in favour of them who were banished, troubled or exiled since the king's majesty's late mother of good memory returning to Scotland, to be extended to the said archbishop, and he to enjoy and have the whole effect and commodity of the said acts as freely in all sorts and respects as if his name were expressly contained therein, and as freely as any of our sovereign lord's lieges possess and enjoy the same, notwithstanding of whatsoever acts of parliament and council, statute, ordinance or law made or to be made in the contrary which may prevent or impede the said archbishop to hold, enjoy and possess the benefit of the said acts, and specially dispensing with an act of parliament made in the month of June 1592 by the which it was declared that no person shall be heard to seek the said benefit but such as have acknowledged his majesty's authority and religion presently professed within the realm; regarding which act and act of ipso facto made against beneficed persons and all other acts and statutes foresaid, our said sovereign lord and estates foresaid dispense and declare that the said archbishop shall enjoy his whole heritages, benefices, dignities, honours, rooms, actions and possessions notwithstanding that he has never made confession of his faith and notwithstanding that he has never acknowledged the religion professed within this realm, regarding which his majesty and estates, by this ratification, dispense, and that the said archbishop shall in no way be subject to the making of the confession of his faith nor to the penalty nor penalties that may result upon the not making of the same during the whole time of his remaining out of the country and for one year after his returning, as at more length is contained in the said act of the date at Edinburgh, 29 June 1598; which act of pacification and restitution above-specified our sovereign lord and estates foresaid in this present parliament have ratified and approved, and decree and ordain the same to have full strength, force and effect to and in favour of the said archbishop without any kind of limitation or restriction, so that he may enjoy and possess the benefit of pacification as amply in all sorts and respects as any subject within the realm has possessed and enjoyed the same and that continually since the date of the said act above-specified, without prejudice always of whatsoever feus of the temporal lands of the bishopric of Glasgow lawfully set, without diminution of the rental to whatsoever person or persons, and also without prejudice of the ministers' stipends according to their particular assignations made to them out of the said bishopric, and of whatsoever rents and duties pertaining to the college of Glasgow, excepting always out of the said restitution the castle of Glasgow and choosing of the provost and bailies of Glasgow and provostry and bailiary thereof.†