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Act for denouncing of excommunicated persons

Our sovereign lord, with advice and consent of his estates of parliament, considering the insolence of excommunicated papists and others who slight the dreadful sentence of excommunication to the dishonour of God and obduring of their own hearts, does therefore ratify and approve all acts of parliament and acts of privy council standing before the year 1640 against excommunicated persons, and statutes and ordains that, in time coming, forty days being past after the said sentence of excommunication, letters should be directed at the instance of his majesty's advocate for denouncing all excommunicated persons his majesty's rebels and putting them to the horn, and that by warrant of the lords of privy council or session, which denunciation being used by virtue of the said letters at the market cross of Edinburgh and pier and shore of Leith, is hereby declared to be sufficient against them and for using of caption thereupon and taking of the escheat and liferent of the rebels conforming to the standing laws of this kingdom, providing always that, before the passing of any such letters of denunciation, the whole process and sentence of excommunication is exhibited and produced before the lords of session in session time to the end that they may consider the legality of the process and grounds whereupon the sentence proceeded; and that accordingly they may give forth the said letters of denunciation as they shall think just and reasonable.