The account of the poll-money the year 1693, read, whereof, and of the observations made thereon by the said commission of parliament, the tenors follow.

Account of the poll-money 1693

By the parliament of 1693, act ninth, poll-money was granted for paying the debts due to the country and arrears to the army from 1 November 1689 to 1 February 1691 and strictly appropriated for that end.

The lords of treasury set the same in tack to [George Ross], lord Ross, Sir John Cochrane of Ochiltree, Sir Robert Stewart of Allanbank, Sir George Hamilton of Barnton, Sir James Oswald of Fingalton, bailie James Graham, William Cunningham of Brownhill and James Dunlop, collector, being eight principal tacksmen, bound to the public each materially, for a tack duty of £529,200, payable at two terms, namely at Candlemas [2 February] and Whitsunday [15 May] 1695.

These eight principal tacksmen were afterwards joined with fourteen co-partners, being in all twenty-two tacksmen, and accordingly they proceeded in the management of the poll, but because of the difficulties occurred to them in the management and bringing in thereof, the estates of parliament in 1695, act thirty first, thought fit to turn the tack into a collection, so that the foresaid twenty-two tacksmen became thereafter liable only as collectors and accountable for their intromissions. In the same act, the parliament appointed commissioners to determine in all things relative to this poll, whereupon the said commissioners, according to a power given them, did set the poll in tack a second time to [John Hamilton], lord Belhaven, [Ludovic Grant], laird of Grant, Sir John Houston of that ilk and Sir Robert Dickson of Sornbeg for a tack duty of £360,000, whereof [George Baillie], laird of Jerviswood is made general receiver.

The said commissioners, after they had ordered several payments to be made to the country, they reported their proceedings to the parliament of 1698, whereupon it was remitted back to them to judge in all the difficulties they had found during their commission, with a parliamentary power. But matters not being fully ended by them, there was a new commission appointed by the parliament of 1701 and instructed likewise with the same power.

The lords and others of the second commission thought fit to break the second tack of the poll and turn it again into a collection, the twenty-two above mentioned tacksmen being still liable as collectors.

Charge of the poll-money 1693 upon the collectors	£	s	d
Collected of poll-money by the several collectors, £291,376 6s	£291,376	6	-
Discharge
1. Paid in to Jerviswood, general receiver, £233,705 10s	£223,705	10	-
2. Allowed the collectors for their expenses by the second commission of parliament, £12,000	12,000	-	-
Balance due by the collectors, £55,670 16s	55,670	16	-
Total	£291,376	6	-

[1704/7/97]¹

Observations on the poll 1693

1. That the breaking the second tack of the poll was an ease to the nation, but a loss to the army.

2. That the foresaid sum of £223,705 10s, paid in to Jerviswood, was duly accounted for by him, being exhausted upon precepts from the treasury and the first commission of parliament, except as to £4,350 6s.

3. That the country looking upon what was owing by the army to be a desperate debt, such disadvantageous transactions were made as the half of what was owing came to be lost, besides several sums are yet owing to the country which are neither paid nor transacted.

4. That the balance due by the collectors, namely £55,670 16s was by the second commission of parliament ordered to be put in the hands of Archibald Houston, their clerk, and now by the commission's order transferred to Walter Riddell, their clerk, which at present is the only fund remaining for payment of the arrears due to the army from 1 November 1689 to 1 February 1691.