[1644/6/36]¹

Procedure: commission for trying delinquents

Commission for trying of the delinquents

The estates of parliament, now presently convened by virtue of the last act of the last parliament held by his majesty and three estates in 1641, having taken into their consideration that the persons after-specified, namely: Sir John Gordon of Haddo, knight, George Gordon of Gight, John Dalgarno of Auchmunill, Captain John Logie, son to Mr Andrew Logie, sometime minister at Rayne, Roger Lindsay of Mains, John Sturgeon of Torrorie and William Maxwell of Mid Kelton are partly cited to appear before this present parliament, and partly taken and apprehended and now in prison within the tolbooth of Edinburgh for various and sundry, great and heinous crimes allegedly committed by them, and that it is expedient they be tried and examined of all manner of legal probation used against them, to the effect that they may be pronounced guilty or innocent of such crimes as are to be laid to their charge and accordingly censured or declared free after the trial to be led against them according to their demerits. And further, considering that for the better effectuating whereof it is necessary that a commission be granted to such of their own number as they shall think expedient and such others as they shall think fit to join with them for taking the said trial and considering the just deserts merited by the aforesaid persons, therefore they have given and granted and by this act give and grant full power, authority and commission to the particular persons after-specified, namely: Alexander [Livingstone], earl of Linlithgow, John [Wemyss], earl of Wemyss, Alexander [Elphinstone], lord Elphinstone, John [Hamilton], lord Bargany, Sir James Stewart [of Ardmaleish and Kirkton], sheriff of Bute, [Sir] Andrew Agnew, apparent heir of Lochnaw, sheriff of Galloway, Mr George Dundas of Manor, [Sir] John Shaw of Greenock, Robert Meiklejohn, burgess of Edinburgh, Robert Arnott, burgess of Perth, Mr Robert Cunningham, burgess of Kinghorn and Allan Dunlop, burgess of Irvine, and to Sir John Hamilton of Orbiston, knight, justice clerk, Masters Alexander Colville of Blair and James Robertson [of Bedlay], his majesty's justice deputes (not as ordinary judges in the office of justiciary, but as commissioners delegated by the said estates of parliament with the other commissioners aforesaid), or to any quorum of the said number of the persons aforesaid being present for the time, which quorum shall consist of nine, whereof two being of each estate, and of the said justice clerk and justice deputes, to proceed in the aforesaid trial against the said persons and to receive grounds of an indictment against them and discuss the relevancy thereof and to receive all lawful probation, either upon their own depositions or upon the depositions of witnesses or other probation led or to be led against them, and accordingly with power to them to find and determine if the aforesaid persons are guilty or innocent according to their own depositions or the depositions of witnesses and other probation led or to be led against them as said is, without proceeding to the knowledge of an inquest or assize; with full power to the said commissioners, or such a number of them as is appointed to be a quorum in manner above-written, to carry out all sorts of legal probation by writ, witnesses or otherwise competent of the law, and to use repetition of all former probation already led and depositions of parties and witnesses already received for trial of the said crimes; and with power to call the said delinquents before them at such diets as they shall appoint to answer to the crimes particularly and respectively contained in the said indictment to be given in against them in the manner above-written, and, for that effect, if need be, to direct their precepts or summons for summoning of witnesses under the pain of horning for proving the said crimes against the said delinquents; and the said estates of parliament by this act discharge the said commissioners and their quorum aforesaid to pronounce any sentence of censure or punishment against the aforesaid persons, but ordain them to report between now and 19 June instant what they find against the aforesaid persons after trial to the said estates of parliament, who, by this act, have reserved the sole and only power of censuring and punishing of them in their own hand.