The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707, K.M. Brown et al eds (St Andrews, 2007-2024), date accessed: 29 March 2024
[1612/10/16]1
An act pardoning the past escapes of some penal statutes therein mentioned
The which day the commission after-specified, signed by his majesty, was presented before the lords of articles of this present parliament of the estates of this present kingdom, and was then heard, read and allowed of by them, and the said commissioners were desired and required according to his majesty's gracious pleasure and will signified therein to proceed in doing what to them by the said commission was directed, of the which commission the tenor follows: Our sovereign lord, understanding that many laws and acts of parliament wisely instituted for preventing and punishing abuses by pecuniary pains have been so long neglected without any research, trial or punishment of the contraveners or exacting of the fines and penalties appointed for these transgressors, that the most part of the people were led by erroneous opinion to think that the negligence of his majesty's officers in discovery and pursuit of the offenders against these laws had proceeded of his majesty's allowance that the said laws and penalties therein contained should go in disuse and in no way be put in execution, whereby the abuse has had so long toleration and the people so constant persuasion that they would not be pursued nor troubled for the same that the number of the guilty are become so great and the penalties of their contraventions so many that the rigorous exaction of the same might turn to the overthrow of a multitude of his majesty's subjects; for remedy whereof, his majesty, with advice and consent of the estates of parliament, gives and grants full power and commission, express bidding and charge to George [Gledstanes], archbishop of St Andrews, John [Spottiswood], archbishop of Glasgow, Alexander [Lindsay], bishop of Dunkeld, John [Erskine], earl of Mar, Patrick [Lyon], earl of Kinghorn, David [Murray], lord Scone, Sir David Carnegie of Kinnaird, knight, John Scrimgeour of Dudhope, constable of Dundee, Sir Gideon Murray of Elibank, knight, James Nisbet, Master Alexander Wedderburn [of Kingennie], Alexander Rutherford [of Rubislaw], provost of Aberdeen, Sir Thomas Hamilton [of Binning], secretary to our sovereign lord, Sir William Oliphant [of Newton], his highness's advocate, or any eight of them, to convene whatsoever days and places needful and convenient by appointment of the said George, archbishop of St Andrews, there to try and consider which of the said penal laws and acts of parliament have heretofore been left in2 disuse, without any controlling or pursuit, as might have induced the subjects to expect impunity of contravening the same, as also which of the acts and statues foresaid merit pardon for bygone contravention and which of them are fit to be authorised in time coming after the said publication shall be severely punished without any further oversight or favour. And whatever the said commissioners, or any eight of them, shall determine and conclude and set down in form of act subscribed with their hands, shall have the form, strength, force and effect of a sure, perfect and absolute pardon and remission to all whom it may concern for past transgression of the foresaid laws, as valuably in all respects as if every one of them had obtained a lawful, formal and particular remission orderly completed under his majesty's hand and seals, with consent of the ordinary officers and with all necessary substance and formality required in the like cases; with certification to all those who shall transgress the laws and acts of parliament hereafter to be published and ordained to have force and execution in time coming shall be pursued and punished thereof with all extremity. Ordaining also this commission, with the acts to be made by virtue thereof, to be inserted and registered in the books of parliament and have the force and execution of an act of the same. According whereunto the aforenamed commissioners have had sundry meetings, and taking hold as well of the necessity of the punishment of such as have contravened the law as of his majesty's most gracious inclination to mercy and compassion, have concluded, decreed and determined as after-follows: In the first, the said commissioners, having consideration of the act and statute of parliament made in the month of December [15]97, whereby all the lieges were inhibited to take any further annual interest or profit than according to the rate and proportion of ten for each hundred in the year, decree and ordain that the same in all time hereafter shall stand in full force, strength and effect, and that the contraveners and breakers of the same shall be with all rigours and extremity punished according to the appointment of the foresaid act of parliament in all points; and as for such as are come within the compass of the breaking and violating of the said act in time past since the making thereof, it is declared that if such person as in time past since the date thereof has exceeded the proportion of twelve for each hundred by taking greater profit or annualrent for their money lent out shall be in like sort, without any mitigation, severely punished according to the tenor of the said act of parliament. And in like sort it is declared that all such persons who since the term of Martinmas [11 November] 1611 (at which time, by his majesty's direction and appointment, the offenders in that case and violators of the foresaid act of parliament were pursued) have given out their money and taken more profit and annualrent than ten for each hundred, shall in like sort be punished as breakers and contraveners of the foresaid act; but as for such persons who since the date of the foresaid act and before the said term of Martinmas 1611 have not exceeded the proportion of twelve for each hundred, his majesty's aforesaid commissioners, upon [the knowledge of]3his majesty's pleasure therein, whose superabundant love and mercy to his subjects was never wanting, and the security of the offenders in this case who, finding no prosecution of any punishment upon the breakers of the statute for such a continuance of time, did thereupon presume to themselves impunity, being some argument of his majesty's compassion towards them, it is therefore by the said commissioners decreed and determined that all and every person who has come within the compass of violating of the said act, and that from the date thereof to the said term of Martinmas 1611, did never exceed nor transcend in taking of profit or annualrent for money lent out by them the proportion of twelve for each hundred, shall be freely discharged, exonerated and pardoned of all pain, fine and punishment which the said act of parliament does appoint to be inflicted upon the contraveners and breakers of the same, but it is no way hereby meant that this shall be a liberation to those who have in any sort since the date of the act of parliament exceeded the proportion of twelve or that have taken more than ten since the said term of Martinmas 1611, but the offenders in any of these cases to be punished as the law has appointed. And also, the said commissioners, upon the reasons and considerations before rehearsed, have discharged simply the whole subjects and lieges of this realm of all such bygone penalties, fines and punishments which they or any of them have incurred through the breaking and violating of any of the acts and statues of parliament hereafter expressed in times past only and no otherwise: they are to say, the acts of parliament made regarding apparel, the acts of parliament made regarding taverners, the acts of parliament made regarding transporting of gold and silver, the acts of parliament made regarding maltmen, the acts of parliament made regarding exchanging of gold and silver and taking thereof above the king's price, the acts of parliament made regarding eating of butcher meat in Lent and forbidden days, the acts of parliament made regarding using of confections beyond sea, the acts of parliament made regarding the transporting of forbidden goods, the acts of parliament made regarding transporting of skins and the acts of parliament made regarding the packing and transporting of herring before Michaelmas [29 September]; and ordains the same whole acts of parliament and every one of them to stand in their own strength, force and effect in all time coming after the form and tenor thereof, and ordains the same to be put to due execution, and the transgressors thereof to be fined and punished according to the fines and punishments mentioned therein.
- NAS, PA2/18, f.4v-5r.
- In superscript. APS follows this with 'such', taken from the contemporary printed collection of acts, The xxj parliament of our most high and dread soveraine James ... halden at Edinburgh the xxiij day of October, 1612 (Edinburgh, 1612), p.9.
- APS interpolation, taken from the contemporary printed collection of acts, The xxj parliament of our most high and dread soveraine James ... halden at Edinburgh the xxiij day of October, 1612 (Edinburgh, 1612), p.9.