[1663/6/5]¹

Committee membership: the articles

Act concerning the constitution and election of the lords of the articles

The which day [John Leslie], earl of Rothes, his majesty's commissioner, represented to the estates of parliament that it was his majesty's express pleasure that, in the constitution of parliaments and choosing of lords of the articles at this session and in all time coming, the same form and order should be kept which had been used before these late troubles, especially in the parliament held in the year 1633, and the manner of the election of the lords of the articles at that time, being now seen and considered by the estates of parliament, they did, with all humble duty, acquiesce in his majesty's gracious pleasure thus signified to them. And in prosecution thereof, the clergy retired to the exchequer chamber, and the nobility to the inner house of the session (the barons and burgesses keeping their places in the parliament house). The clergy made choice of eight noblemen to be on the articles, namely, [William Douglas], duke of Hamilton, [James Graham], marquis of Montrose, the earls [Gilbert Hay, earl of] Erroll, [John Erskine, earl of] Mar, [Hugh Montgomery, earl of] Eglinton, [John Hamilton, earl of] Haddington, [James Livingstone, earl of] Callander and [James Johnston, earl of] Annandale; and the nobility made choice of eight bishops, namely, the archbishops [James Sharp, archbishop of] St Andrews and [Andrew Fairfoul, archbishop of] Glasgow, the bishops [George Wishart, bishop of] Edinburgh, [James Hamilton, bishop of] Galloway, [George Haliburton, bishop of] Dunkeld, [David Strachan, bishop of] Brechin, [Patrick Forbes, bishop of] Caithness and [Robert Wallace, bishop of] the Isles. Which being done, the clergy and nobility met together in the inner exchequer house and, having shown their elections to each other, the persons elected, at the least so many of them as were present, stayed together in that room (whilst all others removed) and they jointly made choice of eight barons and eight commissioners of burghs, namely, Sir John Gilmour of Craigmillar, president of the session, Sir James Lockhart of Lee, Sir James Foulis of Colinton, Sir Archibald Stirling of Garden, Sir Peter Wedderburn of Gosford, Sir Thomas Hamilton of Preston, [John] Murray of Polmaise and William Scott of Ardross; Sir Robert Murray [of Cameron], provost of Edinburgh, Mr John Paterson [of Benchillis] of Perth, Alexander Wedderburn [of Kingennie] of Dundee, Gilbert Gray [of Saphock] of Aberdeen, Duncan Nairn of Stirling, Andrew Carstairs of St Andrews, Andrew Glen of Linlithgow and William Cunningham [of Brownhill] of Ayr, burgesses, and then represented all elections to his majesty's commissioner, who, being satisfied thereof, did then, with the clergy and nobility, return to the parliament house where the list of the eight bishops, eight noblemen, eight barons and eight burgesses being read, it was approved; and his majesty's commissioner did add to the list the officers of estate, and appointed the lord chancellor to be president in the meetings of the lords of the articles, who are to proceed in discharge of their trust in preparing of laws, acts, overtures and ordering all things remitted to them by the parliament, and in doing every thing else which by the law or practice of the kingdom belonged or were proper to be done by the lords of the articles at any time bygone.