[1581/10/28]¹

Procedure: commission

Commission to certain of every estate, with the king's majesty's officers, to treat and conclude on certain articles and supplications after the end of this present parliament

Forasmuch as in the parliament held in the first year of reign of the king's majesty, our sovereign lord, commission was granted to certain lords of the estates to consider such articles as then were committed to them and to report the same to the next parliament, as the said act containing the articles in special, and to whom the consideration thereof are committed, at more length purports; and as likewise in the parliament held by his highness at Edinburgh in the month of November 1579, commission was granted to the lords of privy council for taking order in certain articles, specified in the act made thereupon, of which articles diverse are already considered of and acts and statutes made thereupon, others are remaining as yet untouched, to the great hurt and prejudice of the king's majesty, the commonwealth and sundry particular parties; and lastly, in this present parliament sundry articles and supplications have been presented to his majesty and lords of the articles which cannot be sufficiently considered in that short time which now the estates may remain together, of which whole articles the titles follow: an article of James [Sandilands], lord of St John, concerning the confirmation of his privileges; an article concerning the act of adultery; an article of learned men of this realm desiring letters to flourish; an article touching ejections and plunder; an article concerning reduction of decreets for the causes contained in the first libel; an article concerning warrants in redemption of lands; an article for punishment of them that wilfully pass to the horn and remain thereat; an article for them that pass to the horn for liquidate sums; an article for them that pass to the horn and enter in the girth; an article for them that put their sons and friends in their lands or make assignations of their goods in defraud of the execution of decreets; an article for superiors that give private sasines after the decease of their vassals, in defraud of the heir of the said vassals; an article concerning dearth of victual and livestock; an article for going of fish out of the realm; an article for choosing of commissaries in every shire to keep order amongst craftsmen; an article for slaughter; an article for assythment of party; an article for thieves taken reiving; an article for slaughter of veals and lambs and for passing out of the country and bringing in of wine, iron, tar, lint and dye, and also concerning the merchants that raise the price of the gear that it was first sold for after the importation; an article for confirmation of the gifts of annualrents and chaplainries to burghs; an article of the burgh of Cupar concerning the taking down of their customs; an article for touching seal fees, other fees and writing; for taking order concerning the abuses and disorders of officers of arms and notaries; concerning the extortion taken by customs officers and searchers; concerning prebendaries to be annexed to colleges; concerning deposition from benefices; concerning marriages without consent of parents; concerning sustaining of the ministry at college kirks; reformation of the college of Aberdeen; for erection of a college in Orkney; for consideration and reformation of the state of the universities and colleges in general; concerning the bishops' supplication for the consistorial jurisdiction; commission for taking order concerning the taxation; concerning the order between the merchants and mariners for pirated goods; ratification of the chaplainries to burghs; article of the burgh of Crail; article of the burghs in general for music; supplication of the cities of St Andrews, Glasgow and Aberdeen concerning the commissary; supplication of the burgh of Rosemarkie; concerning the bridges of Leith and Cramond and other bridges; concerning the visitation of our sovereign lord's register; concerning the first fruits of benefices; touching the question between Alexander Stewart, captain of Blackness, and William Hamilton; supplications of David Murray, brother to the laird of Balvaird, and John Dishington; concerning the articles presented for ordering of the west border; concerning the registration of hornings, in what manner writs and evidences shall be made authentic for policy in Edinburgh; concerning prescription of annualrents; supplication of the burgh of Edinburgh and remaining burghs concerning unfreemen; supplication of the town of Quichderne; supplication of the burgh of Annan and parties opposing against the same; supplication of the goldsmiths; concerning the subscription of chapters; concerning escheats given in defraud of creditors; concerning hides and shoes; concerning measures and weights; supplication of the town of Dumfries. Therefore our sovereign lord, with advice of his three estates, gives and grants full power, commission and authority of parliament to the lords of articles underwritten, namely, James Stewart, earl of Arran, John [Graham], earl of Montrose, Andrew [Leslie], earl of Rothes, Patrick [Lindsay], lord Lindsay [of the Byres], James [Ogilvy], lord Ogilvy, John [Maxwell], lord Herries, Patrick [Adamson], archbishop of St Andrews, Adam [Bothwell], bishop of Orkney, Alexander [Campbell], bishop of Brechin, Mark [Kerr], commendator of Newbattle, Leonard [Leslie], commendator of Coupar [Angus], Alexander [Colville], commendator of Culross, the commissioners of the burghs of Edinburgh, Perth, Dundee, Stirling, Glasgow and St Andrews, or any three of them for every estate, with our sovereign lord's officers of the estate underwritten, that is to say: [Esme Stewart, duke of Lennox], the lord great chamberlain, [Colin Campbell, earl of Argyll], chancellor, [William Ruthven, earl of Gowrie], treasurer, [Robert Pitcairn, commendator of Dunfermline], secretary, [Sir William Murray of Tullibardine], comptroller, [Sir Lewis Bellenden of Auchnoull], justice clerk, [Alexander Hay of Easter Kennet], clerk register, and [Robert Crichton of Eliock], advocate, who shall review and consider all the said articles whereupon acts are not yet made, or such of them as they think most needful, or requires greatest haste and expedition, either of the good of the king's majesty, the kirk or commonwealth, and to treat, consult and deliberate upon such acts and laws as they think most reasonable to pass thereupon; which being put in form of acts and subscribed by the said commissioners, at least by three of every estate, with so many of the ordinary officers and of the session as shall assist them and be present for the time, and thereafter delivered to the clerk register and duly published, according to the order of other acts of parliament, through which the same probably may come to the knowledge of the whole subjects, they, and every one of them, within 40 days after the said publication, shall have the strength and force of laws made in his highness's full parliament, sitting until the end of his highness's next parliament, and further, unless they be specially and expressly annulled and discharged.