[1592/4/49]¹

For furthering of the king's commodity by the mines and metals

²Our sovereign lord, understanding that this long time bygone neither his majesty nor the country has imported any commodity of the mines and metals, which in great abundance might be easily found in this realm, to the maintenance and sustentation of a great number of the lieges thereof, and that the said inconvenience has ensued by reason our said sovereign lord and his most noble progenitors were in use commonly to set the said whole mines within their dominions to one or two strangers for a small duty, who neither had substance to cause labour and work the hundredth part of any one of the said mines, nor yet instructed other lieges of this realm in the knowledge thereof, which is more than notorious by the doings of the present tacksman of the mines, who neither works presently nor has worked these many years past, nor ever has searched, sought nor discovered any new metal since his entry, nor has instructed any of the lieges of the country in that knowledge, and which is most inconvenient of all, has made no sufficient payment of the duty of his tack to our sovereign lord's treasurer, so that no part of the said yearly duty is ever come in the said treasurer's account to his highness's use and commodity, whereby our sovereign lord and the whole country will sustain great loss if a stranger shall possess in this manner the whole metals within his majesty's dominions without payment of any duty for the space of 21 years altogether; likewise also in respect of the right of all mines pertaining to his majesty and his highness's predecessors, therefore whensoever any mine or seam of metal was found by any of the lieges of this realm, the same was either neglected, or by all means possible obscured, by reason that no part of the commodity thereof might redound to themselves, whereby a great profit which might have been got both to our sovereign lord and as to the country was utterly overseen. And now our said sovereign lord, understanding the inconveniences foresaid to have proceeded chiefly because there was not a special man of wit and knowledge appointed to whose office properly the oversight of the whole matter of the metals should pertain, and of whom his majesty and estates might seek an account and reason of the administration of his said office that his mines be not neglected (as they are), diverse other princes making so great commodity of the like; therefore our said sovereign lord, with advice of the estates of parliament, has statute and ordained that in all time coming there shall be an ordinary officer appointed and provided to the said office enduring his lifetime for the oversight and profitable handling of the whole matter of the metals and minerals pertaining to our said sovereign lord, and concerning the same, to be called the master of the metals, who shall have the power, express charge and command of his grace and estates foresaid by virtue of his said office to call and reduce before the ordinary judgments of session, secret council or lords of the exchequer respectively for relevant cause of the law all and whatsoever right is made of before to whatsoever person or persons, with advice of parliament, or otherwise of the said metals or any part thereof, or of any or whatsoever offices belonging thereto; and also shall have power, charge and command as said is to seek whatsoever lawful execution against the persons who have had or who shall have or acquire any right of the said metals and minerals with others foresaid and subject to any duty or service to our said sovereign lord for the same, to cause the said duties both bygone and to come be thankfully paid to our said sovereign lord's treasurer and others who have or shall acquire sufficient right and power to retain his majesty's duty, and to compel the said inferior officers to do their duties according to their said offices under the pain of loss of the same. Moreover, our said sovereign lord, with advice foresaid, has statute and ordained that all signatures of infeftments of feu tacks, contracts or dispositions whatsoever to be made by our said sovereign lord or his grace's successors of any part of the said metals or minerals, or of any office belonging to the same, or of any precept, pension, assignation or gift to be conveyed by our said sovereign lord or his foresaids of any part of the profit thereof, shall be null and of no force, strength nor effect by way of action, exception or reply as expressly null of the law, except if the same be passed with the express consent and subscription manual of our sovereign lord's treasurer and also of the said master of metals jointly, and the said form of subscription to be expressed in the gift, which shall pass whatsoever signet or seal of the chancellery wherein the subscription of the master of the metals always in all the foresaid dispositions shall be necessary, and the want thereof shall be nullity of the law. And forasmuch as it is necessary that the said master of the metals, who must be answerable to his grace and estates for the administration of his office, understanding the private pacts and contracts between parties regarding the said metals that our sovereign lord may understand and know his grace, tenants and possessors thereof, and that his grace be in no way defrauded of his highness's duty, therefore it is statute, in manner foresaid, that no disposition or contract between private parties regarding the ground right and working of the said metals or minerals shall be valid, except if the said master of the metals consent thereto, under the pain of nullity, and this clause of nullity to be inserted in all dispositions of feu or long tacks which our said sovereign lord will hereafter make of the said metals or minerals or any part thereof in time coming, without prejudice of parties to sell and traffick with metals extracted and refined at their pleasure, without consent of the said master. Moreover, the said master of the metals only and no others except by his right shall have power to cause break ground, search, seek, extract, work, carry and transport all the said metals and minerals within any part of his highness's dominions, nor set in feu nor convey lawfully to other persons, and likewise within such parts whereof the metals are feued and conveyed to the said other persons, where they themselves refuse or delay to work the same and postpone, to find sufficient caution acted in the books of council or exchequer that they shall sufficiently work, labour and exercise the said metals, and pay our sovereign lord's just duty and tenth part thereof to our sovereign lord's treasurer and others having power as said is; with power to the said master of the metals to make associates in sufficient number and to enter workmen, as well subjects of this realm as of whatsoever number of strangers, not exceeding the number of forty persons in each shire, and to appoint them markets for their provisions and other things necessary with ways and passages, free ish and entry, places for all manner of houses, mills, mill lands, furnaces and fire out of the next adjacent moss and woods necessary for their works, the possessors of the lands, woods and moss being always satisfied and their licence obtained thereto for the damage which hereby they shall sustain in this surface of their ground, not counting the value of the metals to be found within the same as not appertaining to the said proprietors but to our sovereign lord, the said master of the metals being always accountable to our sovereign lord's treasurer and others having power as said is, of his majesty's duty, which is the tenth part of all the said metals freely to be paid to our sovereign lord yearly and termly. And by reason the said miners and workmen are daily in the hazard of their lives by the evil air of the said mines and the danger of the falling in of the same and other infinite miseries and dangers which daily occur in the said work, therefore our sovereign lord, with advice foresaid, exempts the said miners, metallurgists and others actually remaining at the said work from all taxations, charges, proclamations and other charges whatsoever, both in peace and war; and, by the tenor hereof, takes them all, their servants, families, goods, gear and heritages in his special protection, declaring that whatsoever wrong or oppression directly or indirectly shall be done to them in their persons and goods shall be severely punished as done against his majesty's special protection and safeguard, commanding all his highness's judges to see the execution hereof effectually performed within their own bounds and jurisdictions. And because many small questions, controversies and debates will arise between the said workmen and merchants and other traffickers concerning the said metals and minerals which may not abide the lengthy course and great expense of the ordinary justice, therefore it is statute and ordained that the said master of the metals, by himself and his subdelegates, one or more to be appointed by him, to make residence in some convenient place of each shire near and commodious to the said metals, shall be judges ordinary in the first instance in all matters civil and criminal properly concerning the said metals, excepting slaughters, murders or mutilation, which shall be decided by our sovereign lord's great justice according to the ordinary form, providing always that the lords of session shall be judges in the second instance, to reduce whatsoever wrong the said master of metals shall judge or determine by himself or his subdelegates, with power to the said master of metals to make statutes concerning this matter, providing the said acts be first specially approved by his majesty's secret council, to create subdelegates, clerks, servants and other members of court, and to have an ordinary register, and generally to do, practice and exercise all things necessary to the said jurisdiction in such form as the commissaries of Edinburgh, sheriffs of the shire or lords of the regality may do within the realm, discharging all other judges to meddle in any way or have concern with the said judicatories of any such matters; and ordains the lords of session to advocate all such pursuits from their judgments and to remit the same to the judgement of the said master of the metals, providing always the said ordinary judges shall concur to see all the said decreets put to execution within their jurisdictions in such form as they are obliged to cause execute any other ordinary decreet not determined by themselves. And by reason his majesty's rent ordinary cannot well be burdened with any fees or expense to be made hereon, therefore it is statute that the ordinary fees to be appointed to the said master of the metals, or to any other inferior officer concerning the metals foresaid, shall in no way be given out of his majesty's treasury, comptrollership or collectory nor of any other casualties pertaining to his highness, except of the free profit of the said metals only, which shall be freely brought in, paid and made account of yearly to our sovereign lord's treasurer by compositions of signatures belonging to his majesty and by payment of his majesty's tenth part with such other casualties of the said metals, whereof our sovereign lord, with advice of the parliament, has statute and ordained that the said master of the metals shall have yearly the twenty penny as for the ordinary fee of his office, and for eschewing of the multitude of the inferior officers by whose fees a great part of the remainder of the said free profit may be exhausted and made unprofitable to his majesty, it is statute that the ordinary searchers, clerks of cockets and magistrates of burghs and free ports within this realm shall in no way permit any part of the said ores to be transported nor refined, and shall do their diligence in trying of the transporting of the said metals and ores and registering of the quantity thereof, and names and ships of the transporters thereof to be given up by them to the master of the metals as they are subject to do for any other forbidden goods, and that they be answerable to the exchequer and master of the metals yearly hereupon. Likewise it is statute that no such ores shall be transported out of the country, unrefined at least, without licence of the treasurer and master of the metals jointly, and also that no office concerning whatsoever the said metals shall be in any way valid or effectual in any time hereafter, except if the same be of new conveyed by our sovereign lord, with advice of the said treasury and master of the metals jointly as said is, who shall have power to control, try and examine the necessity of the said office, the conditions and special service to be enjoined to the receiver thereof, the penalties of the faults and negligence to be done by him in the said office, the quantity of the fee and all other things depending thereupon, and to stop the signatures thereof, that the same pass in no way forward except for a necessity and a seen profit to his majesty's service; and the said office being passed lawfully as said is, the trying of whatsoever fault or negligence to be committed thereafter in the administration of the said office by the said inferior officer and the power of deprivation of him thereof for the said tried fault or of the condemnation of him in such a pecuniary pain as his majesty's interest will extend to, shall ever pertain in the first instance to the said master of the metals. And our said sovereign lord, knowing the qualification of his well-beloved councillor Master John Lindsay, parson of Menmuir, and of his travails in seeking out and discovering of diverse metals of great value within this realm, and in sending to England, Germany and Denmark to get the perfect assay and knowledge thereof, being also well assured of his earnest desire to advance his majesty's service and commodity, therefore has, with advice of the parliament, given, granted, and conveyed to the said Master John during his lifetime the said office of the master of all the metals, mines and minerals whatsoever within his majesty's dominions with all the foresaid privileges and liberties and all others which of the common law and custom of this or other well-governed countries thereto is known to pertain, together with the special fee of the twenty penny of all sums of money or estimation of metals, ores and other minerals which shall be made account of yearly to his treasurer properly coming of the said metals, and arising upon the profit thereof as said is. And also our sovereign, willing that all his majesty's lieges who will take on hand to discover and work the said mines may have reasonable profit and recompense of their pains [and]³ a sufficient security made to them of their own mines within their own lands, and also understanding that the duty of the said mines which both of the common law and customs observed by other foreign princes properly pertains to the prince extends only to the tenth part free, therefore our said sovereign lord, with advice of his estates in parliament, has dissolved the said mines and metals in so far as they were part of his property, annexed or otherwise, to the effect the same may be set in feu for augmentation of our said sovereign lord's rental; and statutes and ordains that it shall be permissible to his highness and his successors, with advice of the treasurer and of the said master of the metals jointly and for reasonable composition to set in feu ferm to every earl, lord, baron and other freeholder within this realm all and whatsoever mines of gold, silver, copper, lead, tin and other whatsoever metals or minerals, which are or may be found within their own lands and heritages, with power to them to seek and discover, labour and work the said metals and minerals, and to sell, convey or set the mines thereof in tacks or feu, with consent always of the said treasurer and master of the metals jointly in manner foresaid, to others of their subtenants at their pleasure as their proper goods and heritage and with such other ample privileges as our said sovereign lord, with the consent foresaid, shall think expedient for the extracting and working of the said metals by countrymen or strangers, paying thereof yearly the said earls, lords, barons and others who shall accept the said feus as said is to our said sovereign lord and his treasurer, their factors and servants in their name, the just tenth part of all and whole the said gold, silver, copper, lead, tin and other minerals which shall be found and got yearly within their said lands and heritages upon the ground where the same shall be found in such ore and quality as the same shall be got out of the earth freely, without any deduction, with express provision that whatsoever ore the said persons shall extract to their own use shall be received with the king's duty by the master refiner, whom his majesty shall appoint to refine both his majesty's tenth part and all the rest of the ore which shall be extracted within this realm, that his majesty be not defrauded of his grace's duty thereof, providing that in case any mines being sufficiently discovered to be within any of the lands pertaining to any subject of this realm, and the lord of the ground sufficiently advertised thereof and lawfully required to work the same himself before a notary and for witnesses as appropriate, if he refuses or delays the space of three months thereafter, then and in that case it shall be permissible to our said sovereign lord to set the same in feu or tack, or otherwise to cause work the same, or to make right thereof to any other person at his grace's pleasure that by the wilful refusal or delay of the owner of the ground, his grace and his country be not defrauded of the commodity of the said mine. And our said sovereign lord, with advice foresaid of the parliament, declares that this act of dissolution shall be perpetual, to last for all time coming. And forasmuch as Thomas Foulis, goldsmith, has found out the engine and means to cause smelt and refine the ores of metals within this country and has brought in strangers and built houses and mills for this effect to his great cost and expense, and to the great and evident welfare of the whole country within the which no ore in great was ever smelted of before and refined, but the same was ever transported out of the country unsmelted and refined, therefore our sovereign lord, with advice of the estates foresaid, ratifies the said Thomas's gift of the said smelting and refining of all and whatsoever ores of metals extracted and wrought within this country, in the whole liberties, privileges and fees contained therein etc.