[1641/8/151]¹

Act regarding the charges and commissioners' expenses for the barons

Our sovereign lord and estates of parliament ratify and approve the acts made by his majesty's predecessors King James I of worthy memory in his 7th parliament and 101st act thereof, and the act made by his majesty's late dearest father of worthy memory in his 22nd parliament regarding the commissioners of small barons in parliament in the whole heads, clauses and articles thereof, and specially that article of the said last act bearing that all freeholders be taxed for the expenses of the commissioners of the shires passing to parliaments or general councils, and letters of horning and poinding to be directed for payment of the sums taxed for that effect upon a simple charge of six days only, with this addition: for clearing of the quantity and manner of the said taxation that there shall be allowed to every one of the said commissioners for their whole charges and expenses £5 every day for their expenses upon any parliaments or general councils, counting the first and last days from the down-sitting and rising of the said parliaments, with such other days allowed for the commissioners of every shire for their coming to the said parliaments or general councils and returning therefrom from time to time as they shall sit or be adjourned, namely: for the commissioners of the sheriffdom of Edinburgh, for their coming and going, one day; of Fife, two days; of Linlithgow, two days; of Lanark, four days; of Nithsdale, four days; of Dunbarton, four days; of Stirling, two days; of Haddington, one day; of Berwick, four days; of Clackmannan, two days; of Kinross-shire, two days²; of Perth, four days; of Kincardine, four days; of Ayr, four days; of Wigtown, six days; of Kirkcudbright, four days; of Roxburgh, four days; of Aberdeen, eight days; of Renfrew, four days; of Selkirk, two days; of Banff, eight days; of Elgin, ten days; of Nairn, ten days; of Argyll, eight days; of Inverness, twelve days; of Caithness, sixteen days; of Sutherland, fourteen days; of Orkney, thirty days. The which daily allowance after rising of the said parliaments or general councils shall be calculated and put in a sum by the clerk of parliament under his hand, to be divided and imposed proportionally upon the whole freeholders, heritors and life-renters holding of the king's majesty and the prince, according to the proportion of their lands and rents lying within the shire, excepting always out of this act all the lands belonging to the noblemen or their immediate vassals, and therefore declare that their lands held of his majesty or prince and their vassals to be free of the said tax, notwithstanding of this present act or any act preceding, and that letters be directed thereupon by the lords of session to charge the freeholders, heritors and life-renters holding of his majesty and the prince to convene at the head burgh of every shire upon one special day for dividing and setting down the proportion thereof in manner foresaid, with power also to stent the said freeholders, heritors and life-renters for the tenth penny more of the said whole so calculated for the expenses of the letters to be raised thereof, and other charges in the collection thereof, with certification that such as shall convene shall have power to proceed notwithstanding of the absence of the rest; and that letters of horning and poinding be directed thereupon at the instance of the said commissioners for payment thereof in manner above-written, and if payment be not made within the days contained in the charge, so that the commissioners be forced to poind thereof, then and in that case it shall be lawful to poind for the double of the sum charged, besides that charged by the sheriff, and no suspension pass thereupon but upon consignation only; and if the suspension discuss against the suspender, in that case the suspender shall be ordained to make payment to the commissioners of the double of the sum charged for, in addition to the commissioner's other charges and expenses in discussing the suspension. And this act to take effect for the commissioners of this present parliament and all parliaments hereafter.³