[1609/4/15]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Forasmuch as our sovereign lord and estates of this present parliament, considering that one of the great causes which has procured the growth and increase of papists within this kingdom has proceeded from the small care and regard that has been had of the education and upbringing of the youth, who being sent out of the realm to places of contrary profession and not being first well grounded in religion and accompanied with pedagogues scarce well affected to religion, they do often return back so possessed with superstition and heretical errors as they may be justly suspected for dangerous subjects in the estate; for preventing of which growth and increase of defection from the true faith by the occasion foresaid, our said sovereign lord and estates foresaid ordain that all such noblemen and others who hereafter shall direct any pedagogues with their sons out of the country shall be held by virtue of this present act to have a sufficient testimonial of the bishop of the diocese where the said pedagogue for the most part lately made his residence, testifying and approving the said pedagogue to be godly and of good religion, learned and instructed in the same. And if any nobleman or other shall happen to send any pedagogue with their sons out of the country without testimonial and approbation of the bishop in manner above-written, in that case our said sovereign lord and estates foresaid declare, statute and ordain that every such nobleman and others according to their several degrees and ranks shall incur the pains particularly underwritten, namely: every earl, £5,000; every lord, 5,000 merks; and every baron, 3,000 merks, which sums shall be intromitted with and uplifted of them by his majesty's treasurer and his depute to his highness's use, providing in case it shall happen the bishop of that diocese to refuse to grant testimonial to the pedagogue upon the premises, the said bishop thereafter being lawfully summoned to compear before the lords of his highness's secret council to answer to that complaint and show not a reasonable cause of that his refusal, then and in that case it shall be lawful to the lords of secret council to† the foresaid pedagogue to the effect above-written.
[1609/4/16]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Our sovereign lord and estates of this present parliament ordain the noblemen, barons and others to have a special care and to give order and direction that the remainder of their sons out of the country shall be in places where religion is professed or at the least where there is no restraint of the same by the cruelty of inquisition, and that during the time of their absence they shall not frequent any idolatrous exercise of religion, and such persons as have not the means to maintain with their sons a pedagogue shall send them to such places where religion is professed; and in case their sons after their departure out of the country shall haunt the exercise of contrary religion, our said sovereign lord and estates foresaid ordain that their parents or such others as have the charge of them shall be forced to find caution acted in the books of secret council under such pains as shall be modified, that they shall not supply, entertain nor furnish them with anything necessary or comfortable to them after that it [be]† known that their sons are become papists and practice idolatry contrary to the religion presently professed within Scotland, except their reasonable expenses in recalling and bringing them to this realm of Scotland.
[1609/4/17]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Our sovereign lord and estates of this present parliament, considering that whereas there are diverse persons who are excommunicated for not conforming themselves to the true religion presently professed and do notwithstanding still enjoy the possession of their lands, rents and living, either directly in their own persons or covertly in the persons of their friends and well wishers, to their use and benefit, to the encouraging of them to persist in their pernicious and erroneous opinions and to the frustrating of the execution of the acts and constitutions made against excommunicates heretofore; therefore our said sovereign lord and estates foresaid declare, statute and ordain that no persons whatsoever who are already or hereafter shall happen to be excommunicated for not conforming themselves to the religion presently professed within this kingdom shall be suffered either directly in their own persons or covertly and indirectly by any others in their names and to their benefit enjoy the possession of their lands, rents and revenues, but the same shall be meddled, intromitted with and uplifted to his majesty's use.
[1609/4/18]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Our sovereign lord and estates of this present parliament, considering that to the effect every man's affection and disposition in his religion may be clearly and sufficiently known, therefore our said sovereign lord and estates foresaid statute and ordain that every archbishop and bishop within the bounds of his diocese shall once every year give up to the treasurer, comptroller, collector and their deputes, and to the director of our sovereign lord's chancellery, a roll subscribed with his hand, containing the names of all such persons within his diocese who are excommunicated for religion; and ordain the said treasurer and his deputes that they receive no resignations nor grant confirmations nor infeftments to or [in]† favour of any of the persons whose names shall be contained in the said roll, and that the director of the chancellery and his deputes give out no brieves, receive no retours nor direct any precept upon retours nor upon comprisings in favour of any of the said persons whose names shall be inserted in the said roll at any time thereafter, until the said person or persons produce to the said treasurer, comptroller, director of the chancellery and their deputes a sufficient testimonial subscribed by the said archbishop or bishop testifying their relaxation from the said excommunication and their obedience and satisfaction to the kirk as the said treasurer, director of the chancellery and their deputes will be answerable to his majesty upon the duty of their office. And likewise our said sovereign lord and estates foresaid declare that it shall be lawful to all lords of regalities and to all superiors whatsoever within this kingdom to refuse brieves and precepts of clare constat in favour of any person or persons whose names shall be inserted in the said roll, as also to refuse the entry of tenants upon comprising whose names are inserted in the same roll.
[1609/4/19]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Our sovereign lord and estates of this present parliament, considering the impunity of Jesuits, seminary priests and other papists, adversaries to the true religion professed within this realm, and their resetters in times bygone have been the cause as well of their increase as of their insolence in all the parts of this realm, and that the same has proceeded partly upon the negligent execution of the acts of parliament made against the said papists, Jesuits and seminary priests and their resetters, and partly upon some obscurity of words in the said acts; therefore our said sovereign lord and estates foresaid, most willing to have the said acts put to due execution in all points and papistry and superstition utterly suppressed according to the intention of the same, have ratified, approved and confirmed and, by the tenor of this present act, ratify, approve and confirm all and whatsoever acts of parliament either made in his highness's minority and less age, or else since his acceptance of the government in his own person, against Jesuits, seminary priests, papists, sayers and hearers of mass and resetters of the said persons or any of them, and decree and ordain the same to have full strength, force and effect and to be put to due execution in all time coming, with these explanations after following: that the said acts made against sayers and hearers of mass shall be put to due execution and be extended to all hearers and sayers of mass without any exception or restriction, as likewise that all acts made of before against the resetters of the said persons have their full force, strength and effect, and to be put to due execution against the said resetters after lawful intimation and denunciation be made of the said persons, which denunciation and intimation his highness and the estates foresaid declare to be sufficient to cause the said resetters of the said papists, Jesuits, seminary priests and others contained in the said acts incur the pains therein contained if the same be made at the head burgh of the shire where the said persons remain and at the market cross of Edinburgh, without any further intimation to be relating thereto; after the which denunciation and intimation to be made as said is, our said sovereign lord and estates foresaid declare that whosoever thereafter shall wittingly and willingly reset any of the said persons, either privately or publicly, that the said resetters shall incur the pains contained in the said acts, they being lawfully convicted thereof, and that the act made in his highness's first parliament, bearing that none that profess not the true religion presently professed within this realm may be judge, procurator or member of court, be extended to all and whatsoever offices without any exception or restriction in all time coming. And for the better execution of the said acts, our said sovereign lord and estates foresaid command and ordain all archbishops, bishops and presbyters to call before them the said papists, Jesuits, seminary priests and their resetters, every one within their own bounds, and to take trial and cognition if they have contravened the said acts or any part thereof, and according as they find after due trial and probation, that they report the same to his highness's advocate and secret council, to the effect they may be called and convened before them and punished according to the said acts in all points.
[1609/4/20]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Our sovereign lord, understanding that in all well governed republics the jurisdiction civil and ecclesiastic are several, distinct and diverse jurisdictions which ought to be administrated by the persons to whom the same properly belongs, and according to his highness's most loving and princely affection borne always to the Christian reformed church within this realm, being most willing that the said church should possess and enjoy their liberties, privileges, freedom and jurisdiction granted to them by his majesty (from whom only their temporal jurisdiction does flow), and in that regard belonging to them as being one of the estates of parliament most necessary to be maintained for giving of their advice, counsel and assistance in all his majesty's great and weighty affairs, has, with express advice and consent of the estates, restored the archbishops and bishops of this realm to their former authority, dignity, prerogative, privileges and jurisdictions lawfully pertaining and shall be known to pertain to them (always flowing from his majesty as well as any other ordinary jurisdiction does), and specially to the jurisdiction of commissariats and administration of justice by their commissioners and deputes in all spiritual and ecclesiastical causes controverted between any persons dwelling within the bounds and diocese of their prelacies and bishoprics; with full power to the said archbishops, bishops and their successors in all time hereafter to nominate and create sufficient wise, discreet and learned men best acquainted with the law and practice of this realm, to serve and administrate justice in the said places of judicatory, to constitute clerks and all other under-officers so often as the same shall fall vacant by demission, decease, deprivation or otherwise, and to provide others in their places with as great freedom and liberty as any archbishops or bishops in this realm formerly have done, which commissaries to be nominated and treated by them shall judge and decide in all causes belonging to their judicatory and wherein the commissaries presently in office are in use to decide, keeping the same style and form which is presently observed and that manner of proceeding which shall be prescribed and enjoined to them by special injunctions without any alteration of the present laws or introduction of new and uncouth practices upon the subjects and lieges, and shall have power of confirmation of testaments, every one of them within their own bounds, the quots thereof to be paid to the archbishops, bishops, their chamberlains, factors and under-receivers appointed by them; for the better effectuating whereof, his majesty and estates of parliament ordain letters of horning to be given and granted by the lords of session in that same very sort that the commissaries present have it for execution of all their sentences and decreets which shall happen to be pronounced by them, and compelling of persons to enter and confirm the testaments of their defuncts in the very same manner that formerly has been done. And for maintaining of all things in better order and the restraining of unlawful deforcements too frequently practised within this realm, to the high dishonour of God and slander of true religion, his majesty, with advice and consent foresaid, has statute and ordained that in the burgh of Edinburgh there shall be resident always four commissaries, two to be nominated and appointed by the archbishop of St Andrews and two by the archbishop of Glasgow, who shall have the only power to decide in all causes of divorcement, as likewise shall have power of reduction of all decreets pronounced by any other commissaries to the hurt and prejudice of any of the lieges, before whom it shall be only lawful to intend and pursue reductions of inferior commissaries, their sentences and decreets in the first instance. And in case the said commissaries to be appointed by the archbishops of St Andrews and Glasgow as said is perform not their duty, the lords of session shall have power to try, examine and determine in the same, and shall judge upon all decreets and sentences alleged to be wrongfully pronounced by them, and that because they are his majesty's great consistory, to whom his highness, with advice of the said estates, gives and grants a high and supreme commission for all such causes to judge and determine of them in such case; and declares that it shall be lawful to the said lords of council and session to advocate causes to themselves from any of the commissaries upon just and lawful complaints made to them by any of the subjects and not otherwise, providing always that the said session shall ever be ready to give an account to his majesty that their advocations have been grounded upon probable and lawful grounds for the well of the subjects. And that this foresaid act may be put in present effect, his majesty, with advice foresaid, declares all former erections of commissariats to be suppressed and extinct from thenceforth and forever all constitutions [that]† have been in former time of the same, in whatsoever part of the realm the same have been erected and by whatsoever manner the same have proceeded, acts of parliament, secret council and others made relating thereto; and in like manner discharges and annuls all presentations, gifts or dispositions made by his highness to the commissaries present or to any other concerning the said commissariats and all rights acquired by them by decease, demission or howsoever the same has fallen vacant, and all gifts and dispositions made in favour of their clerks and members of court by whatsoever manner or order the same has proceeded, with this provision always: that the commissaries presently in office, with clerks and other members of court who shall be authorised with testimonial of the lords of session of their sufficiency and qualification to their several places and offices, shall possess and enjoy the same, they always receiving a new presentation and gift of their offices from the archbishops and bishops of their diocese where they serve between now and 1 December next; otherwise if in case the said commissaries and other members of court do not produce the foresaid testimonial from the lords of session as said is, it shall be lawful to the archbishops and bishops to provide other sufficient persons to the said places, the restitution of the said jurisdiction always to be with express reservation of his highness and his successors, their prerogative and supremacy in all causes, ecclesiastical and civil, within this realm. Providing always that this present act shall in no way be hurtful nor prejudicial to the heritable right of the commissariat within the bounds of Argyll pertaining to Archibald [Campbell], now earl of Argyll, but the same to stand in the same force, strength and effect as it was before this present act and notwithstanding thereof or any clause therein contained as by law.