[1581/10/41]¹

Addition to the act of lawburrows

²Forasmuch as sundry good acts have been made concerning finding of lawburrows for preservation of the true and obedient subjects from unjust force and violence, and lately, for their greater comfort, it was well ordained that the pains of lawburrows should be divided between the king and the party offended to; nevertheless, seeing the pains of lawburrows has extended only in time bygone in safety of bodily harm from the person of the complainer, the malice of the wicked so increases as they cease not by indirect means and hounding out of rogues, vagabonds and others not responsive to invade the innocent persons, not only in their bodies, but to reive, steal, hoch³ or slay their oxen and other cattle, cut or distort their corns, or to cause eat the same with livestock, to hound and slay their sheep with dogs, boast themselves in such sort as they dare not lie in their own house, or to menace their servants to leave their service, through which their ground may be laid waste, to the utter wreck and pauperisation of the innocents. Therefore our sovereign lord, with advice of his three estates in this present parliament, ordains that all letters of lawburrows shall be directed in time coming at the instance of the parties complaining, charging the persons complained upon to secure surety and lawburrows that the complainers, their wives, bairns, tenants and servants shall be unharmed and undamaged in their bodies, lands, tacks, possessions, goods and gear, and in no way to be molested or troubled therein by the persons complained upon, nor no others of their causing, sending, hounding out, resetting, command, assistance and ratihabition, whom they may stop or let directly or indirectly otherwise than by the order of law and justice under great pains to be modified by the lords of session or other ordinary judges, by whom, in case the said lawburrows shall be duly tried to be broken, the one half of the pain shall pertain to our sovereign lord and the other half to the party aggrieved, according to the effect and meaning of the said act made to that effect of before.