[1592/4/45]¹

Procedure: commission

Commission to confer and treat with the ministry regarding the provision of sufficient and local stipends to the ministers

²Our sovereign lord and estates of this present parliament, being all resolved and of deliberate mind and purpose that in all time coming there shall be a special minister appointed to make residence at each particular kirk within this realm for teaching and preaching of the evangel of Jesus Christ and administration of the sacraments thereat; and also that there be a local stipend designed and appointed to each minister to be taken up yearly of the thirds, teinds and other duties lying within each parish, out of which the ministers' stipends were in use to be taken and paid of before; and seeing the greatest part of the same thirds, teinds and other rents, assigned yearly of before in the said ministers' stipends, are now exhausted and taken away by the annexation, erections and other dispositions made thereof to diverse persons, so that without the good will of the present possessors of the teinds, temporal lands and other kirk rents, it will be hard and difficult to modify and appoint the said local stipends at each parish kirk, and that the shortness of time will in no way permit such a weighty matter to be entreated in this present parliament; therefore his majesty and estates of this present parliament have given and granted, likewise they, by the tenor hereof, give and grant full power and commission to the persons underwritten, they are to say: to Walter [Stewart], commendator of Blantyre, lord privy seal, Edward [Bruce], commendator of Kinloss, John [Graham], earl of Montrose, lord Graham etc, Alexander [Seton], lord Urquhart, Mark [Kerr], lord Newbattle, master of requests, Sheriff John Cockburn of Ormiston, knight, justice clerk, Master David Carnegie of Colluthie and George Home of Wedderburn, or any five of them jointly, and also to Masters Robert Bruce, David Lindsay, Patrick Galloway, James Nicolson, John Duncanson, Peter Blackburn, James Melville and Patrick Sharp, ministers, or any five of them jointly, and to [John Maitland, lord Thirlestane], my lord chancellor, [Alexander Hay of Easter Kennet], clerk register, and other officers of state when their leisure may serve to be present, to convene at such time and places as the said commissioners shall appoint among themselves, and there to treat and confer upon the particular heads following, namely: how and in what manner there may be a minister provided at each parish kirk within this realm; what local stipend is necessary for the ministry serving the cure at each parish kirk, and by what means the same may be best conveniently had and provided to them that they be not abstracted from their cure in time coming by suiting of their stipend otherwise; and to confer upon whatsoever heads necessary for performing of the premises; and to the effect that the same may be the better accomplished, with power to the foresaid commissioners to direct forth letters in his highness's name and authority, charging all tacksmen of the teinds and lands of whatsoever prelacies or other inferior benefices within this realm or any part thereof to compear before them whatsoever time and place they please to appoint by the said letters, bringing with them their said tacks and other rights to be seen and considered by the said commissioners, what special duty each tack contains, the number and quantity of the years contained in their tacks, and what yearly commodity the tacksman gets thereof; and consideration being had of the premises, the said commissioners by good and godly reasons to move and induce the said tacksmen each one for their own parts, according to the yearly value and profit of their teinds, to agree and condescend to some reasonably yearly profit and condition whereby the said local stipends may be provided to stand at each parish kirk in time coming to the person exercising the function for the time; and as the said commissioners agree, conclude and end their said conference, ordain them to report the same to his majesty and his privy council, to the effect that shortly thereafter his highness may appoint a convention of certain of the nobility and others of his estates to consider the said commissioners' proceedings, advice and determination in the premises, with power to the said convention and estates to end, conclude and determine upon the premises as they shall think best and most expedient after reading and advising of the report to be made in their whole presence by the said commissioners of their proceedings in the said matter, whose determination our said sovereign lord and his said estates presently convened find and declare to be as good and sufficient as if the same had been determined, ended and finally concluded in this present parliament; and ordain the same to be put to due execution, and to have full force, strength and effect in all time coming.