[1594/4/25]¹

General dissolution of the property

Our sovereign lord, with advice of his estates in this present parliament, statutes and ordains that it shall be permissible to his highness to set all his old proper lands, both annexed and unannexed, in feu ferm, so that it be not in diminution of his rental, grassums or other duties but in augmentation of the same, with such clauses and conditions as he thinks expedient, to the effect foresaid; and that the lands that he sets in his time stand perpetually to the heirs after the form of their condition; and that this dissolution endures for the lifetime of the king, our sovereign lord that now is, only, so that the lands which he sets in his time with the conditions foresaid shall stand perpetually; and after his death, the annexations made of before to return again to the own nature, so that his successors shall not have power to alienate nor set in feu more than they had before the making of this statute, providing that this statute shall not extend to the setting in feu ferm of any of our sovereign lord's castles, palaces, yards, woods, parks, forests, pastures for sheep and cattle, and in special the Lomonds of Falkland, coal-works and offices, but the same to remain inseparably annexed to the crown notwithstanding this present dissolution. And our sovereign lord and his estates foresaid decree and declare that this present dissolution is and shall be only to this effect: that the said annexed lands shall be set in feu to the ancient and kindly tenants, possessors and occupiers of the ground who were infeft by our sovereign lord and his predecessors of before, and to all other persons which have heritable infeftment of feu ferm granted to them by our sovereign lord or any of his predecessors, they seeking their infeftments of feu ferm and paying their compositions thereof to be modified by his highness's comptroller, with advice of John [Maitland], lord Thirlestane, chancellor, John [Erskine], earl of Mar, lord Erskine, John [Graham], earl of Montrose, lord Graham, Alexander [Livingston], lord Livingston, Robert [Seton], lord Seton, Mark [Kerr], lord Newbattle, master of requests, Master Thomas Lyon of Baldukie, treasurer, Sir John Cockburn of Ormiston, knight, justice clerk, Walter [Stewart], commendator of Blantyre, keeper of the privy seal, Master Robert Douglas, provost of Lincluden, collector general, Sir John Carmichael of that Ilk, knight, Master David Carnegie of Colluthie [and Kinnaird], Alexander Hay of Easter Kennet, clerk register, Alexander Home of North Berwick Mains, provost of Edinburgh (or any seven of them, the said comptroller being always one), between now and 1 August 1595; otherwise that it be lawful to his majesty to set the said annexed lands now dissolved to whatsoever persons his highness thinks expedient, always on condition of augmentation of his highness's rental as said is. And also ordains this present act of dissolution to be extended in favour of the queen's majesty, to have such rights and infeftments of whatsoever lands pertaining to her as she had before.