[1643/6/71]¹

Legislation

Act anent the annuity

Forasmuch as our sovereign lord, the king's majesty, with advice and consent of the lords commissioners of his majesty's treasury and exchequer, by his majesty's letter under the great and privy seals of the date at York, 7 May 1642, gave and granted full power and commission to his majesty's right trusty cousin and councillor, John [Campbell], earl of Loudoun, lord Mauchline and Tarrinzean, lord high chancellor of this kingdom, enduring all the days of his lifetime to sell, alienate and convey, with consent and assent of any two of his majesty's exchequer, to and in favour of whosoever his majesty's subjects, heritors or liferenters of lands, their heirs and assignees, all and whole the annuity of teinds due to his majesty and his successors out of their lands and teinds for the payment of 10 years' purchase, with the arrears of the said annuity resting owed unpaid by them, subtracting always to them one third part of the said arrears resting unpaid, which his majesty of his gracious favour has remitted to the buyers of the said annuities and with such further deduction as the said earl of Loudoun shall think fit and expedient, with consent of any two of his majesty's exchequer, to grant to the said buyers in manner and upon the provisions contained in the said letter of commission. Likewise his majesty, by the said letter of commission passed under the great and privy seals of the date aforesaid, has given and granted full power to the said John, earl of Loudoun, his heirs and assignees, to uplift and receive the said annuity of teinds of all years and terms bygone and yearly in time coming for the space of 19 years, and further always until the said earl's intromission with the said annuity of teinds, or with the prices of the said annuity to be sold to his majesty's subjects, make up and extend to the sum of £20,000 sterling and interest thereof, which his majesty is resting to his familiar servant, James Livingstone, keeper of his majesty's privy purse, to whom the said earl is bound by express warrant and provision of the said commission to pay the same, as in the said letter of commission of the date aforesaid at more length is contained. Likewise the lords of exchequer, by their act of the date at Edinburgh, 27 June 1642, ordained letters of publication at the market cross of Edinburgh and other letters, according to the acts of commission, exchequer, convention and acts of parliament made relating thereto, as the said act in itself at more length purports; and the said estates of this present convention, having maturely considered the said commission, together with the order prescribed by the said lords of exchequer for selling of the said annuity of teinds or uplifting of the same, and thereupon also that the said John, earl of Loudoun, lord chancellor, has contented and satisfied the said James Livingstone of the said sum of £20,000 sterling and interest thereof due to him, and has purchased and acquired from the said James Livingstone his right of the said sum of £20,000 sterling and interest thereof due to him out of the said annuities of teinds or prices thereof; whereby the said earl of Loudoun, his heirs and assignees have good and undoubted right by the laws of this kingdom in and to the said annuity of teinds and prices thereof until they be fully paid and satisfied of the said sum of £20,000 sterling and yearly interest thereof of all years bygone and to come; therefore the said estates have of certain knowledge ratified and approved, likewise by this act they ratify and approve the said letter of commission, with the said act of exchequer made for selling the said annuities of teinds or for uplifting of the same, together with the letter of gift granted by his majesty to the said James Livingstone, his heirs and assignees of the said annuity of teinds, with the rights and dispositions of the same made by the said James to the said earl of Loudoun and his aforesaids in the whole heads and articles thereof; and ordain letters of publication of this act at the market cross of Edinburgh and other places needful.