[1581/10/50]¹

Against the transporting of cattle and sheep out of the realm

²Our sovereign lord, with advice of his three estates and whole body of this present parliament, ratifies, approves and, for his highness and his successors, perpetually confirms the acts made by his highness's most noble progenitors against the transporting of sheep, cows or other cattle out of the realm, and ordains the same to have full effect and execution in time coming, with this addition: that it shall be lawful to any of our sovereign lord's lieges that happens to apprehend any cattle or sheep, young or old, droved to be transported out of this realm, to stay the goods and to apprehend and keep the drovers of them until they have been subjected to an assize before the justice or his deputes in the tolbooth of Edinburgh, or before the sheriff, stewart or bailie of the bounds where they shall happen to be apprehended, whom his highness makes ordinary justices in that part for trying of the contraveners of this present act and executing of the pain of hanging upon them and confiscation, as well of the goods apprehended as of the remainder of their moveable goods; which persons being found guilty, ordains and declares the one half of the said goods apprehended and remainder of their moveable goods to be equally divided between the judge ordinary and the apprehender for their pains, and the other half of the same escheat goods to be brought in to our sovereign lord's use, and account to be made of the same in the exchequer.