[A1641/8/144]¹

[Act prohibiting remissions granted without letters of assythment]

Act remissions granted without assythment of the party to be null²

Our sovereign lord and estates of parliament, considering the many great abuses that sundry of his majesty's good subjects heretofore have sustained by murders, slaughters, raising of fire, plunderings, robbery, theft and sundry other great crimes and oppressions, and thereafter either the committers thereof by their own means or by their friends obtain remissions for the said crimes without making any reparation or satisfaction to the parties damnified thereby, against all law, equity and justice, therefore statute and ordains that no remissions hereafter shall be granted to any person or persons whatsoever for any murder, slaughter, fire raising, plunderings, robberies, theft or any other crimes and oppressions of that nature until first the parties damnified be fully satisfied of all their damage sustained thereby, but upon the sight of letters of assythment and discharge of the parties having interest granted them, paid and satisfied of all their losses. And with this declaration: that the said parties having interest be ready and willing to accept of an assythment and to receive satisfaction for their goods, gear and losses sustained by them by the oppressions foresaid respectively, which his majesty, with consent of the estates, ordains to be made by the parties committers, to the parties having interest and who sustain the hurt and damage by the sight of the lords of his majesty's secret council; and that the said remissions shall lie or not passed in exchequer until the said parties fulfil and obey the decreets of the lords of secret council to be given relating thereto. And declare all remissions to be passed otherwise than is above-specified to be null in the self, and to furnish no defence before [Sir William Elphinstone], justice general, nor his deputes in whatsoever criminal pursuit to be intended against them for the crimes above-specified.