chancery scottish record office edinburgh.pdf

7/27/2019 CHANCERY SCOTTISH RECORD OFFICE EDINBURGH.pdf

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A U &

A G U I D ETO

T H E P U B L I C R E C O R D S O F S C O T L A N D

DEPOSITED IN

H. M. GENERAL REGISTER HOUSEE DINB UR GH

\ \ BY

M. LIVINGSTONE, I.S.O.LATE DEPUTY-KEEPER 01' THE RECORDS

GENEALOGICAL SOF UTAH

r s m r

EDINBURGHH. M. GENERAL REGISTER HOUSE

1 9 0 5


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To be purchased, either directly or through any Bookseller, fromOLIVER & BOYD, EDINBURGH ; orWYMAN & SONS, L T D . , FETTER LA N E, E.C.; or

E. PONSONBY, 116 G R A W O N S TR E ET , D O B L I N .

G L A S G O W :


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PREFACET H E records arid other muniments now depositedin the General Register H ouse at E dinburg h, andto wh ich this volume is intended as a guide orhand-book for the use of the public, are mainlythose which , by vi rtu e of the ir office, fell to thekeeping of the officers known originally as theKing's clerks, or clerks of the King's Chapel orChancery, to whom were entrusted the p reparation and issue of the royal brieves, charters,and other w rits, and the w riting of the rolls onwhich the various classes of documents relatingto the transaction of public business wereregistered. T hese duties were probably, inthe earlier periods, performed under the generalsupervision of the Chancellor and withou t anyspecial or at least perm anen t and recognisedseparation of function among the clerks employed.An important document relating to the rolls orrecords, dated in 1282, and to which we shallafterwards have occasion to refer, was preparedand attested by three persons designed as " th e" King's clerks ." One of these, William de Dunfreisor Dumfries, we find a few years afterwards, in


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iv Preface.1290, described as clerk of the rolls of the King'sChapel or Chancery, and then and subsequentlyrecognised as their responsible custodian. From1290 onwards, though the record for the first fiftyyears is broken and the series of nam es for th atreason perhaps incomplete, there is a constantsuccession of officials under the designation ofclerk of the rolls, or, as the importance of theoffice becam e m ore fully recognised and itsduties extended, und er the w ider descriptions ofclerk of the rolls and register, or clerk of theregister, council, and rolls, latterly abbreviatedto Clerk-Register, to which, as to the titles ofothe r high officers of State, was added, more Scotico,the hono rary prefix of " Lo rd." Ultimately theLord Clerk-Register becam e presiding clerk ofParliament, of the Privy Council, of the Courts ofSession and Exchequer, and of all royal andparliamentary commissions, including the Commission of Teinds, with the power, partially withdraw n in 172 8, of appoin ting deputies or assistantsin these respective offices. The records of thesebodies and of various administrative departmentsof State, w ith the ir w arra nts or instructions andall State papers, remained ex officio in his custody.

But besides the State records properly so-called,or, to use th e words of the Act of 12th August,1662, c. 38, such registers and public warrants asmight " concerne his Majestie in the interest of his" croun or the publict government of th e king-" dom e," he was also the recognised and specially


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Preface. vappointed custodian of other registers, which,again quo ting the same A ct, concerned " the" priv ate interest and securities of the subjects,"such as th e Registers of Sasines, of Horn ings, ofInhibitions and Adjudications, and of NotarialProtoco ls. Re lating to these registers , and fromthe time of the ir institution' or at la ter periods,extensive statutory powers were conferred on theLord Clerk-Register. These included the issue andauthentication of the volumes used in th e compilation of the registers, their final cu stody andpreservation when completed, and the superintendence and, in some cases, the appointment of theclerks or keepers, who were made responsible tohim for the regu lar and strict discharge of theirduties. The cou rts of law were empow ered andenjoined, on his complaint or application, to aidhim in every way in the discharge of these duties,by enforcing his orders or giving effect to hiscom plaints against neg ligen t or refractory officers.

The policy, thus adopted, of placing the publicregisters of the kingdom under the supervisionand ultim ate keeping of an officer of State w asone well calculated to secure the completeness,authenticity, and uniformity of the records, thepermanence of the materials used in their preparation, and their pro tection, as far as possible, fromthe many accidents and agencies of destructionand decay to which written memorials have at alltimes and everywhere, but, in some respects,especially in Sco tland, been peculiarly liable. No


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vi Preface.sanction was wa nting tha t m ight be added b y aposition of rank and influence to the Clerk-Register's authority in the exercise of theseim po rtant functions. As an officer of S tate , hisstatus and precedence were defined by statute.He had a seat and vote in Parliament, and was amember of Privy Council, one of those who, in1593, were appointed to be in constant attend anceon the Kino-.

Wise and well-advised as the system was, however, th e results attained, as attested by th estatute-book and the evidence of extant records,did not always meet the exp ectations of its framers,either as rega rds the preparation or the securityof th e records. The clerks and keepers of theregiste rs (we refer especially to those rela ting toprivate rights) were, as a rule, paid by the fees ofreg istratio n and inspection, and their offices werefrequently bought or conferred, for considerationsothe r th an fitness, on incom petent persons. Th eholders thu s appo inted not only discharged theirduties negligently, b u t h ad, in many cases, a d irectand pecuniary interest in retaining the volumes ofreco rd in their own hand s, u ntransm itted, forund ue periods. This reten tion, in many cases,resulted in the loss of valuable records in thehan ds of the holders or their representatives, orin the destruction of such records by fire or otheraccidents, where, as was too often th e case, theregisters were kept in the ordinary dwelling-houses of the keepers. Many gaps and imp er-


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Preface. viifections in various classes of ou r record s areundoubtedly due to these causes. Their operation,however, was not confined to Scotland. Nationa larchives in othe r countries ha ve , no dou bt, sufferedas well by the negligence of officials as by theapathy and indifference with which, on the part ofa considerable section of the pub lic, the preserva-tion of ancient muniments has been and still isregarded . Bu t after m akin g every allowance inthese respec ts, and for the risks ru n in the civilbroils in which all pa rts of o ur country were sofrequently involved, it is the fact th a t by far th emost serious losses we have to lament in the caseof the Scottish records are those sustained inconsequence of their wholesale rem oval to E nglandby Edward I. and by Cromwell.

Evidence of the existence, before the death ofAlexander II I. , of an extensive series of na tionalrecords is afforded by a docum ent now in thePu bl ic Record Office in London. This is aschedule or inventory, prepared in 1282, inobedience to a royal precept, by the King's clerks,Thomas de Carnoto, Ralph de Bosco, andWilliam de Dunfreis, of the bulls, charters andother memoranda found in the King's treasuryat Edinb urgh . I t contains a detailed list ofa large num ber of papal bulls, charte rs, andtreaties and other instruments relating to trans-actions with England, Fran ce, F landers, andNorway, and concludes with an attestation thatmany other writings, enclosed in boxes, coffers, and


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viii Preface.sacks, were, though not specified, seen and placedunder seal by the officers en trusted with the pre paration of the inven tory. None of these now .exist in Scotland. W ha t became of them? Anexamination of the evidence leaves no reason fordoubt that they were carried off to London, wheresome, in fact, still exist, though most of themhave disappeared.

As is well known, the claims of the variouscompetitors to the Crown of Scotland after thedea th of the Maid of Norw ay, the recognised heirof Alexander II I. , were subm itted to the arb itrament of Edward I. of En gland , in his assumedcharacter of lord param oun t. One of the firststeps taken by Edward, in the execution of hisoffice of arbiter, was the issue of a mandate, datedat Berwick, 12th Aug ust, 1291, directed to RalphBasset of Drayton, whom he had appointed constable of the castle of Edinburgh, and William deDunfres, keeper of the rolls of the kingdom ofScotland, for delivery to the commissioners thereinnamed of the keys of the treasury in the castle,and of the boxes, chests, or other repositoriescontaining cha rters, instruments, and other w ritings relating to the righ ts of th e claimants or toEd w ard himself and his kingdom. The com-missioners were appointed to aid the King inarriv ing at a decision and for th at purpose toremove the muniments to which the preceptreferred and deposit them at the place assigned byhim for the ir exam ination. In obedience to this


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Preface. ixorder, the writings selected by the commissionersas necessary for their purpose were removed fromEdinburgh and transpo rted to Berwick. An" Inde nture," da ted at B erwick, 23rd A ugu st,1291, records the fact and contains a catalogue ofthe documents removed, by no means exhaustiveof those in the inven tory of 1282, bu t sufficientlyprecise in its descriptions to identify many ofthem with corresponding entries in the earlier list.Others would, no doubt, be selected from amongthe many in the inventory of 1282 seen and sealedup , bu t not p articulaidy described by those w hoprepared it. In addition to the writings mentioned,there is included in the indentu re of 1291 a listof various jewels, relics, and articles of th e royalwardrobe w hich, thou gh not covered by th eirw arra nt, were also " lifted " by the English com-missioners.

A M emorandum , still preserved in th e Pu blicRecord Office, attests that, after their removal toBerwick, the documents selected by the com-missioners and contained in two coffers weredeposited, along with five othe r writings, in a chestin the trea sury of Berwick Castle. All reasonabledoubt as to their ultimate disposal and that of thejewels, relics, and other articles will be set at restby an interesting document printed at page 221,Vol. H., of Mr. Joseph Bain's Calendar of ScottishDocum ents deposited in H .M . Pub lic Record Office inLondon. This is a schedule contain ing an inven-to ry of jewels found in the castle of Ed inb urgh ,


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x Preface.attached to which is a memorandum attestingthat on 17th September, 1296, these jewels weresent from Berwick to London by the hands ofJohn the Candelar in thre e coffers, and a g rea tcoffer and two small coffers with divers writingsand memoranda found in the castle of Edinburgh,another coffer containing relics, and various otherarticles. "A ll these," the m emorandum concludes," the said John delivered to Sir John de Droken-" ford, who deposited them in the wardrobe at" W estm inster." Mr. Bain, in his preface to thevolume mentioned, rem ark s of the writings referredto in this docum ent tha t " it may be fairly sur-" mised that these comprised many, if not all, of" the old records of Scotland." They, no doubt,included all th a t the comm issioners had selectedas relevant to the claims of the com petitors forthe Crown of Scotland and to Edw ard's own pretensions ; but they formed only a com parativelysmall number of the documents included in theinventory of 1282 as then existing in the royaltreasury at Edinburgh, and the bulk of whichremained in cha rge of the English constable. Ithas now to be shown th at these too found the irway at first probably to Berwick and afterwards,certainly, to London.

The right of John Baliol to the Crown wasdecided by Edward on 17th November, 1292;and, after his coronation at Scone, on the 30th ofthe same month, it would appear from an indenture, dated at Newcastle-on-Tjme, 30th Decern-


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Preface. xiber following (the counter part of which ispreserved in the Register House), that the Scottishwritings therein enumerated were delivered toAlexander Baliol, chamberlain of Scotland, onbehalf of King John . This indentu re contains alist of records and muniments sent by RalphBasset from the castle of Edinburgh to the castleof R oxburgh, on the order of certain persons whomEdward had appointed to audit, at Berwick andRoxburgh, the public accounts of Scotland; andtestifies that the documents so transported weredelivered to the chamberlain wholly and entirelyas they were received by the auditors. The listenumerates not only a great number of rolls ofaccounts and cha rters such as, na tura lly enough,might be required for reference by the aud itors,but also many other writings and rolls relating topub lic affairs, the roy al household, and inter-national relations, with bulls and other papallette rs, all w ith a few exceptions described in m ass,withou t much or any atte m pt at even classifica-tion. Evidently these were the record s andmunim ents left in the castle w hen those selectedby the commissioners of King Edward wereremoved in A ugu st, 129 1. The indenture issilent as to the place of delivery and subsequentdestination of these records. They ough t, afterdelivery to the chamberlain, to have been returnedto Edinburgh Castle, but they appear to havebeen retained at Berwick in view of the realisationof Edward's cherished designs on the kingdom,


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x i i P r e f a c e .and though nominally in the custody of thechamberlain of Scotland were really kept withinreach of Edward or his officers during the wholeof Baliol's brief and inglorious reign, and, after hisrenun ciation, to have been, at some da te du ringthe W ar of Independence, removed bodily toLondon. This is evidenced by existing docu m ents. On the deposition or renunciation ofBaliol in 1296, Edward appointed Hugh Cressing-ham to be treasu rer of Scotland. A m em orandum ,dated at Berwick, 16th September, 1696 (the daybefore the dispatch to London of the more important papers and jewels already mentioned), setsforth the delivery to Cressingham at Berwick ofmany rolls of accounts found in the castle ofEd inburg h and dating as far bac k as 1218. On10th May, 1301 , Edward's clerk of the wardrobedelivered to his receiver of rents in Scotland 19rolls of extent of the royal demesnes and sheriff'saccoun ts no rth of the Fo rth . In 1306 a prec eptis directed to John de Sandale, then cham berlainof Scotland, for a search among the charters andletters pa ten t of " the late kings of Scotland " forevidence of a gra nt to the abbo t of Dryb urgh .1Finally, we have in Bishop Stapleton's Kalendarsof the documents deposited in the Treasury of theEnglish Exchequer in 1323 a long inventory ofScottish reco rds and munim ents, including m anypublic documents described in detail, and ending

1 Liber de Dryburgh (Bannatyne Club, 1847), p. 229.


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Preface. xiiiwith an en try of " Muniments of the kings of" Scotland and others of that kin gd om " ascha rters, & c , which are not otherwise specified,but were contained in " two forcers of lea the r" bou nd w ith iron, four hana pers covered with" black leather, n ine wooden forcers, eighteen" han apers of twigs, and thirty -tw o boxes," besidesthe other muniments and memoranda of the samecountry particularly specified in the Kalendar.This Kalendar is printed at length in Sir FrancisPalgrave's Ancient Kalendars and Inventories ofthe Treasury of His Majesty's Exchequer,published in 1836, and is re-produced at page 108et seq. of The Scottish Antiquary for January, 1898.When to the evidence of the documents thus citedis added the fact that many of the original Scottishmuniments enumerated in them actual mem bersof the corpus delictiare still preserved in London,it is matter for surprise that the placing of theresponsibility for the abstraction or loss of ou rearliest memorials should ever have been a subjectof con troversy. The re tu rn of such as still existwould be a somewhat tardy but not too latecompliance with the treaty of Northampton.1

Only a little less disastrous in its results on laterrecords was their capture by Cromwell on thesurrender of Stirling Castle, in 1651, and theirsubsequent removal to the Tower of London . The

1 Th e inve ntories of 1282, 1291, 1292, and 1296 are prin tedat leng th in M r. Tho ms on's edition of th e Acts of th e ScottishParliament, Vol. I . , pp. 107-118.


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xiv Preface.Registers of the Privy Seal alone escaped on thisoccasion. These were saved by the fidelity of M r.Andrew Martin, the clerk in charge, who had fledw ith them to the highlands and, eluding thevigilance of the protector's officers, concealed themthe re for ten yea rs. They were recovered fromhis representatives in 1707.

A large part of the registers removed by Crom-well, consisting of those relating to private rights,the absence of which occasioned much incon-venience in the administration of justice and incarrying on the government, was inventoried and,to the number of 1547 volumes, returned toEd inbu rgh in 1657. The remainder, more inter-esting and for historical purposes more valuable,were retained un til after the Restoration. InDecember, 1660, in obedience to an order for theirreturn, they were packed in "hogsheads and" kists " and placed on bo ard th e Eagle frigate a tGravesend for conveyance to Scotland, und er theimm ediate charge of M r. Jo hn Young. The frigateon its way put into Yarmouth, and 85 of the hogs-heads were th ere transhipp ed into a m ercha ntvessel of Burntisland called the Elizabeth, boundfor Leith. The tranship m ent was made by orderof Major Fletcher, commander of the frigate, inspite of the protests of Young and of John Wemys,master and owner of the Elizabeth. Th e precisereason for the proceeding is not apparent from theextant documents, and unless the frigate had beenactually endangered by the presence of its cargo in


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Preface. xvthe course of the brief voyage from Gravesend toYarm outh, the transfer does not appear to havebeen justified. The Elizabeth weighed anchor ona signal from the Eagle (which, contrary to theexpectation of Wemys, did not sail in convoy) andthree days afterwards encountered a gale, in whichshe foundered, with her cargo, 18 miles off Cockleand Winterton, the crew and passengers escapingby boat. Investigation into the circum stancesattending the loss of the records was made bydirection of the Scottish Parliament, and, after theexamination of witnesses, the parties responsible,viz., Fletcher, Young, and Wemys, were exoneredof all blam e. The depositions of the witnessesadduced by Fletcher have not been found; butthose m ade on behalf of W em ys are still preserved,and , if they are to be relied on, it is difficult toescape the conclusion that the commander of thefrigate escaped very easily.

Apparently only ten hogsheads were retainedon board the frigate, and the records contained inthem, including, prob ably , those now ex tantrelating to Parliament and the Privy Council,were all th at escaped shipwreck. In the absenceof all particulars of the contents of the hogs-heads transferred to the Elizabeth, it is impossibleto say what the records were w hich perishedwhen she foundered. The missing rolls of ch artersgran ted by Ro ber t I. and his imm ediate successors,and which are known to have been in existenceat the beginning of the 17 th cen tury, with m any


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xvi Preface.State papers and rolls or volumes of accounts,may have been among the num ber ; bu t thesecould h ave filled only a small pro portion of 85hogsheads. Indeed, having rega rd to the recordsstill preserved for the period prior to the CivilWar, and to the safe return, in 1657, of all thoserelatin g to pr ivate rig hts, it is difficult to believeth at those remaining could have filled any thinglike tha t num ber of hogsheads. H ad the prospec tof an unusually safe and speedy transit suggestedthe conveyance on board the frigate of oth erless valuable and probably private property toLeith ?

Th e tale is still incom plete, a nd othe r losses maybe referred to as illustrations of the misfortuneswhich, like an evil fate, pursued for centuriesour nation al mun iments. The older records ofChancery, deposited in the abbey of Holyrood,and some of the earlier municipal records of thecity of Ed inbu rgh, are believed to hav e perishedwhen the abbey and city were burned by H ert -ford in 1544 or 1547. The more imp ortan trecords of the Reformed Ch urch were, in 165 1,transferred for safety to the Bass, were cap turedon the surrender of that fortress in 1652, andwere, like th e public records, transp orted toLondon . Since then all trace of their existencehas disappeared. If returned in 1660 they m ayhave been lost w ith the Elizabeth, or surv ived ship-wreck only to meet destruction in the great fireof 1700, in which it is believed that various


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Preface. xviich urc h regis ters , as wel l as those re la t ing to te ind s .were involved . O ther reg is ters re la t in g to theCh urch w ere en t rus te d , du r i ng the C ivi l W ar , tothe E ar l of B alc arr as , found th ei r w ay af tervar ious transm issions to th e l ib ra ry of SionCollege, and , being pro du ce d before a com m itteeof the H ou se of Com mons on C hu rch Pa tro na ge in1834 , per ished , whi le ly ing in the com m it tee- rooms,in the fire w hic h ove rtook the H ous es of Pa r l ia ment in October of that year .

To th is lon g roll of dis ast er, sus tain ed by fireand flood an d at th e ha nd s of the na tion alenemies, m us t be ad de d th e in jur ies infl icted b ythe " gre ed y too th " of t im e, alway s and eve rywhere in ten t on wr i t ten mem or ia ls , and agg rav a tedin Scotlan d n ot only by th e defective an d m ak eshif t character of the repositor ies in which, forgre ate r securi ty , th e rec ord s were from tim e tot ime p lac ed , bu t a lso by th e ap at hy an d neglec tof those resp onsib le for th ei r safety. T he ca stleof Edinburgh, as the s trongest for tress of thekingdom , w as f rom th e ear l iest per io d the ir us ua lhom e, as the T ow er of Lo nd on was for some of theEng l ish archiv es . Af ter the Re storat ion the ywere removed at va r ious t imes , and , for gre ate rconvenience of access and reference, to the vaults ,da m p and imperfect ly l ighted , below the Pa r l iam ent Ho use. H ere the y rem aine d for ful ly acentury, and, besides being injured by the defectsof the s i tuat ion , we re t rea ted wit h inexcu sableneglect , several of the ho gshead s w hich escaped

b


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xviii Preface.shipwreck on thei r t ranspor t f rom London havingrem aine d t i l l 175 3 un op en ed. T he insufficientch ara cte r of the reposi tory , m oreover , necess i ta tedthe rem ov al of regis ters an d w ar ra nts to thepri va te residences of th e clerks or ke ep ers , orsuggested their retent ion there, a course fol lowed,in some instan ces, b y th eir de struc t ion b y fire, asin th e case of the teind rec ord s, or by the ir dis-ap pe aran ce f rom othe r causes . Pu bl ic a t tent ionwa s at last arouse d to those evi ls , an d resu l ted inth e e rect ion of the Re gister H ou se as a g en eralreposi tory . To th is bui ld in g , adm irably con-s t ructed in every way for that purpose, they wereremoved in 1784.

I n view of th e m an y vicissi tudes an d losses th usbriefly rev iew ed, i t is m at te r b o th of su rpr iseand cong ra tu la t ion tha t so m uch m ater i a l hassurv ive d. If m an y of th e oldest and, for histor ic alpurposes , more valuable records have per i shed, ando thers exh ib i t i r r epara b le g aps , m uch rem ainsth at is indispensa ble to th e histo r ian , the ge nea -logist , and the general searcher , al ike as to theland , the l angu age , an d the peop le. Th ere a re a tpresent deposi ted in the Reg is ter House ab ou t60 ,000 manuscr ip t vo lumes , and an equ iva len t inbu lk o f un bo un d w ar r an t s and o the r pap ers . Ryfar the gre ate r nu m be r of these is , of course ,recen t ; bu t the accumula t ion embraces , bes idesmany ancient records, an extensive col lect ion ofchar ters and o ther or ig inal documents dat ing f romthe 12th ce ntu ry onw ard . L arg e access ions are


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Preface. xixcontinually being made by the transmission ofcurrent registers and of judicial proceedings.

Reference to this mass of material for the pur-poses of research has been and is being much andincreasingly facilitated by the publication fromtime to time, by aid of parliamentary grants, ofthe contents of the more important registers,those of the Parliament, the Privy Council, theExchequer Rolls, the Trea surer's A ccou nts, andthe Great Seal, to which is about to be added theregister of the Pr ivy Seal. M uch, how ever,remains to be done in the work of calendaring andindexing of original papers and of the volumes ofimportant registers, the number and bulk ofwhich render publication, even in an abridgedform, impracticable.

With the Union in 1707 the Scottish Parliamentceased to exist, and the business transacted by thegreater State departments was removed to the seatof the cen tral governm ent. The revenue of thispart of the United Kingdom continued for a con-siderable period to be collected and , for certainpurposes, administered under the supervision ofthe Court of E xc he qu er ; bu t this control,gradually diminished as considerations of economyor expediency suggested, was altogether termi-nated in 1833. The auth oritativ e records of thelocal or domestic histo ry of Scotland, therefore,since the union of the kingdoms, so far as affectedor controlled by th e departm ents of State , are to befound elsewhere; altho ugh the proceedings of


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xx Preface.various s tatutory or royal commissions, such asthose rela t ing t o the Co urts of L aw , theUn ivers i t ies , and the H ighlan ds , are deposi ted inth e Re gister H ou se. T he re shou ld be no difficultyin add ing to these th e rec ord s of any ce ntra ldep ar tm en ts e i ther par t ia l ly o r who l ly concernedwith the adminis t ra t ion of exclus ively Scot t ishaffairs.

I t ha s bee n observe d th at not a few bla nk s inth e va r ious series of Scott ish reco rds a re d ue tothe ir bein g left, in m an y c ases, in th e ha n d s of thec le rks o r keeper s en t rus ted wi th the i r p repara t ion .M any no ta r ia l p ro toco ls were undo ub ted ly r e ta ine dby th ei r ow ne rs in forgetfulness or [neglect of th es ta tu to ry p rov is ions which requ i red the i r t r ans mission to the ce ntra l repo sitory. I t is extre m elyprobable that many records of th is c lass , surv iv ingal l the r isks to which , in pr ivate cus tody, they areso peculiar ly l iable, may st i l l exist in the hands ofth e repre sen ta t ive s of thei r or ig inal h old ers or ofthose acqu ir ing possession f rom th e m ; an d i t i spermissible to hope, that if this volume shouldmeet the eyes of any pr ivate cus todians , they maybe indu ced , as some enlighte ned possessors ha vebeen, to res tore such records to publ ic cus tody.

T o conc lude these gene ral observa t ions , i t m aybe added that by the Act 42 & 43 Victor ia , c . 44(1879 ) , i t was ena cted th at the L ord C lerk-R eg iste r should co nti nu e to be one of th e officersof State in Scotland, with the same status andprecedence as former ly , but that no r ights ,


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Preface. xxiprivileges, or duties should be attached to theoffice other than those connected with the electionof representative peers of Scotland. He was alsocontinued as Keeper of the Signet. To the DeputyClerk-Register was transferred, save as otherwiseprovided, the rights, authorities, privileges, andduties formerly vested in the Lord Clerk-Registerwith reference to the public registers, records, androlls of Scotland. The custody of the rec ord s,therefore, is now comm itted to the Deputy Clerk-Register as Keeper of the Records of Scotland.With the sanction and by authority of the presentholder of the office, Sir Stair Agnew, K.C.B., thepresent volume was und ertake n and is nowpublished.

In the course of revising the office catalogues itwas found advisable to adopt an improved systemof classification. This is represented in thefollowing pages, which form an abridgm ent ofthe catalogues, and will be followed, as far aspracticab le, having regard to the convenience ofthe officials in charge as well as the public, in theactual' arrangem ent of the records . To each classor sub-class are prefixed or appended a few observations relating to the origin and history, orexplanatory of the purpose, of the particularfltecord, which may be useful to those prosecutingor intending to prosecute research. Th roug hou tsuch notes and observations, Acts of the ScottishParliam ent are cited by reference to the recordedition published under the editorship of Mr.


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xxii Preface.Thomas Thomson, Depu ty Clerk-Register, and Mr.Cosmo limes. The citations differ in mostinstances from those made in older law books andstill to a large extent repeated by modern writers.

It can hardly be expected that, in a publicationof this kind , bristling with dates on every page,complete freedom from m istakes has been secu red;and indulgence is accordingly craved for any thatmay be found. This will be the more readilyextended when it is remembered that the keepersand clerks of the older classes of reg isters were,as a rule , entirely indifferent to the m aintenanceof a strict chronological order in the compilationof their record. The first and last entries in agiven volume by no m eans, in most cases, preciselydefine the per iod covered by it. Tha t can, frequently, be arrived at only by an examination ofthe volume leaf by leaf; and the elimination of allerrors arising in this way must therefore be left totheir discovery from time to time as occasionarises for reference or inspection in the case ofindividual volumes.

In the Appendix will be found a precis of therecords of the Court of Teinds, of the Court of theLord Lyon, and of the office of H.M. Chancery.These (except to a part ial exten t in the case ofChancery) are not transmitted to the Clerk-Reg ister, and than ks are due to the courtesy of Mr.Elliot, clerk of Teinds ; Mr. Grant, Lyon Clerk ;and Mr. Stalker, depute-director of Chancery, forthe lists printed . I t was intended also to include


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CONTENTS.P A G EC LA SS I . C R O W N , P A R L I A M E N T , R E V E N U E ,' A N D A D M IN IS T R A T IO N . . . . . 1-761. O aths of Sove reigns at Coro nation or Accession, . 12. Oaths of Allegiance, Assu rance, an d A bjura tion, . 33. Regalia, Royal W ardrobe and Househo ld, . . 64. Par liam en t, Conv ention of Estat es, Com mittee ofEsta tes, Parliam entary Com mittees, P eer s ' Elections, 85. Pr ivy Council, 176. Se creta ry 's Office 237. Proclam ations, . . . . . . . 238. State Pap ers, 249. Crown Patrim ony and Rev enue, Exchequ er andTrea sury : . 28(1) Crown R enta ls, . . . . . . 31

(2) Respo nde Books, 33^-(3) Exc heq uer Rolls, 33(4) Com ptroller's Accounts, . . . . . 34(5) T reasurer 's Accounts, . . . . . 34(6) A ccounts of th e R oyal H ousehold, . . . 35(7) A ccounts of th e M aster of W orks, . . . 36(8) Th e M int, 37(9) Accounts of the Chamberlain of Dunfermline,& c , 39(10) Silver M ines of H ilderston, . . . . 40(11) Tax ations 40(12) A ccounts of R eceiv ers-G en eral, . . . 44(13) Custom s and Excise, . . . . . 46(14) Common Good and Customs of Bu rgh s, . . 48(15) Army and Navy Accoun ts and M uster Ro lls, . 52(16) C om missioners of th e E qu iv ale nt, . . . 59(17) Forfeited Es tate s, 60(18) Exchequer and Treasury, . . . . 72(19) Royal Le tter s to Treasu ry and Ex che que r, . 75(20) Office of th e P ip e , . . . . . . 75


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X X V I C o n t e n t s .C L A S S I I . J U D I C I A L R E C O R D S : . . .

1 . The Counc i l ,2 . T h e C o u r t of S e ss io n : . . . . .

( 1- 4) R e c o r d s , M i n u t e B o o k s , W a r r a n t s , & c , .(5) B oo ks of Co unc i l and Sess ion or R eg is t er of

D e e d s a n d P r o t e s t s , .3 . C o u r t o f E x c h e q u e r ,4 . H i g h C o u r t o f A d m i r a l t y ,5. J u r y C o u r t , . . . .6 . C o u r t of T e i n d s , . . .7 . Co ur t o f t h e L or d Ly on , .8 . C o m m i s s a r y C o u r t s ,9 . R e g a l i t y , Sheriff, a n d B a r o n C o u r t s

10 . Ab ol i t i on o f Re ga l i t i e s , .1 1 . L a w C o u r t s C o m m i s s i o n s ,12 . D i l i g e n c e R e c o r d s , .

PAGE7 - 1 5 18 1SI8 19 297li s

10110210410612913 713 8140

A N D152-191152. 158. 160. 161. 163. 164

L65166

C L A S S I I I . T I T L E S T O L A N D , D I G N I T I E S ,O F F I C E S :1 . T h e G r e a t S e a l ,

2 . T h e P r i n c e ' s S e a l ,3 . T h e Q u a r t e r S e a l a n d R e c o r d s of C h a n c e r y ,4 . T h e P r i v y S e a l ,5. R e g i s t e r of T a ilz ies , . . . . . .6 . R e g i s t e r of t h e I n t e r r u p t i o n s of P r e s c r i p t i o n , . '7 . R e g i s t e r of t h e I n v e n t o r i e s of H e i r s e n t e r i n g c u m

beneficio I n v e n t a r i i , . . . . . .8 . R e g i s t e r of S a s i n e s , . . . . . . .9 . N o t a r i a l P r o t o c o l s a n d R e g i s t e r o f t h e A d m i s s i o n s

of N o ta r i e s , 18110 . O r i g in a l C h a r t e r s , I n s t r u m e n t s , a n d o t h e r W r i t s ,

a n d B o o k s of S ty l e s , & c , . . . . . 190C L A S S I V . E C C L E S I A S T I C A L A N D M I S C E L

L A N E O U S R E C O R D S : . . . . 192 -2 0 81. T h e C h u r c h : 1 9 2

( 1 ) P r e - R e f o r m a t i o n , 1 9 3( 2) P o s t - R e f o r m a t i o n : C h u r c h L a n d s a n d B e n e fices , B i shop s ' R en t s , Te m ple La nd s , Mi s

c e l l a n e o u s, V a c a n t S t i p e n d s , T e i n d s , . 1 9 42 . T h e U n iv er s it i e s , " 2 0 03 . T he H ig hl a nd s, . 2 0 14. S olway S a lm on F i s he r i e s Com miss ion , . . . 2 025. V a l u a t i o n R o l l s , 2 0 26. R e p o r t s o n L o c a l R e g i s t e r s , . . . . . 2 027 . S p e c ia l C o l lec t io n s , . . . . . . . 2 0 38 . I n v e n to r i e s of t h e R e c o r d s , . . . . . 2 0 59 . T h e G e n e r a l R e g i s t e r H o u s e , . . . . . 2 0 7


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Conten t s . xxv i i

APPENDIX.P A G E1. Records of th e Teind Court, . . . . . 2112. Re cord s of the Lyo n Co urt, . . . . . 2143 . Records of Chancery, . . . . . . 2154. List of the Lords C lerk-Register, . . . . 222


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CLASS I.RECORDS AND DOCUMENTS RELATING TOTHE CROWN, PARLIAMENT, REVENU E,

AND ADMINISTRATION.

1. Oaths of Sov ereigns at th eir Accession.Of the oatl i taken at their coronation by the sovereignsprec edin g th e R eform ation no official record has been

preserved, bu t i ts term s m ay be take n as indicated b y theAct of the General Council at Perth on 27th January,139f, on occasion of th e ap po intm en t of th e D uk e ofRothesay to the regency in the reign of Rob ert I I I . Bythat Act the Duke is directed to be sworn " to fulfil after" his power al l th ings that the King in his crowning was" sworn for t i l l do," and these are expressed at length.U pon the adop tion of the reformed religion th e term s

of the oath were adap ted to th e change d circum stancesand are prescribed by an Act of Pa rliam en t passed on20th Decem ber, 1567 (A .P. II I . , p . 23). I t was re -enacted by an Act of th e Con vention of Esta tes atEd inbu rgh on 18th A pri l , 1689, and was take n on theiraccession by K in g W illiam and Queen M ary at theRevolution, and by Queen A nn e. T he originals -arepreserved.


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C L A S S I.c ontinued.'] [Oaths of S overeigns.The oath taken since the Un ion with Engla nd is th atprescribed by an A ct of the S cot tish Pa rl iam ent , incorpo-rated in the Treaty of Union, providing that the sovereignsucceeding thereafter to the Royal Government of GreatBritain shall in all time coming, at his or her accession

to the C rown, swear and subscribe th at they shallinviolably m ain tain and preserv e th e sett lem ent of thetru e Pr ote sta nt religion, and th e worship, discipline,r ight , and privi leges of the P resby terian C hurch asther eb y established in prosecu tion of the C laim ofR igh t. The oath is tak en a t the first m eetin g of Priv yC ouncil, and, w hen subscribed by th e sovereign and th em em bers of C ounci l presen t , is t rans m it ted to the L ordPre siden t of th e C ourt of S ession, registere d in th e Booksof S ede runt, and thereafter deposited in th e Re gisterHouse for preservation.

The following are the oaths preserved:1. Oa th of K in g W illiam and Queen M ary, sworn andsubscribed at Whitehal l , 11th May, 1689.

2. Oath of Queen A nne , sworn and subscribed a t S t .Jam es's, 8 th March, 1702 . Th is oath is accom-panied by an at testat ion by ten me mb ers of thePrivy C ouncil of S cot land th at th e C laim of R igh tcontained in the Declaration of the Estates of theKing dom of S cotland, and the A rt ic le of Griev-ances to be redressed in Parliament, voted andapproved by the Estates two days afterwards,were first read before Her Majesty.

3 . O ath of K in g George I. , sworn and subscribed at S t .Jam es 's , 22nd S eptember, 1714, w ith the Order inC ounci l d irect ing i ts t ransmission a nd regist rat ion.

4. O ath of K ing George II . , sworn and sub scribed atL eicester Hou se, 14th Ju ne , 1727.

5. O ath of K in g George II I. , sworn a nd subscribed atC arlton H ouse, 25 th October, 1760, w ith the rela-t ive Order in C ouncil.6. Oath of George A ug ustu s Frederick, Prince of W ales,


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C L A S S I. continued.] [Oaths of A llegiance.Regent of the United Kingdom, sworn and sub-sci'ibed at C arlton Hou se, 6th Febru ary , 18 11,w ith the relative Order in C ouncil .

7. Oath of K in g George IV ., sw orn and subscribed a tC arlton Ho use, 30th Ja nu ary , 1820, w ith therelative Order in C ouncil, and an au tog rap h letterof S ir W al ter S cott , as one of th e principa l C lerksof S ession, t ran sm it t ing the oath to the L ordC lerk R egiste r for preserv ation.

8. Oath of K in g W illiam IV ., sworn and subscribed atS t . Jam es 's , 26th Ju ne , 1830, with the relativeOrder in C ouncil .9. Oa th of Queen Victoria, sworn and subscribed atK ensin gton , 20th Ju n e, 1837, with the relativeOrder in C ouncil .

10. Oath of his present Majesty, sworn and subscribedat S t . Jam es 's , 23rd Janu ary , 1901 , w ith th e relat ive Order in C ouncil.A dditional interes t is lent to these oaths by the sig nature s of th e Privy C ouncillors pre sen t at the t ime,embracing as they do m ost of th e prom inent s ta tesmenand others of the successive reigns.

2. O ath s of A l leg ian ce , D ec la ra t io n s of A s su r a nc e, A b j u r a t i o n , & cNo O aths of A llegiance are preserved earlier th an thereign of C harles I I . To the oath p rescribed in his reig nby the A ct of 27th Feb ruar y, 16 61, c . 62, was added anA cknow ledgm ent of the Royal Prero gative s as definedby the A cts of 11th, 16th, and 25th Ja nu ai y, 1 661, caps.6, 7, 11, 12, and 22.1. Portfolio con tainin g O aths of A llegiance andA cknowledgm ents of the Royal Preroga t ives r equired to be signed by all persons called to placesof pub l ic t rust . 1661-1685.

ERRATUM.

Page 3, line 5th from foot, for 11, 12, read 12, 13.


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C L A S S I. continu ed.] [Oath's of A llegiance.2. Portfolio containing Declarations prescribed by theA ct of 5th S eptember, 1662, c. 54, again st thelawfulness of the N ationa l C ovenant and S olemnL eague and C ovenant. 1673 to 1687, and un dated.3. Two volumes kept by Thomas Moncreiffe of that i lk,

C lerk of H is Majesty 's Treasury and Exchequer,comm encing 16th Ju ly, 1680, and end ing 10thDecem ber, 1686, con taining Oaths of A llegianceand D eclarations un der the A cts of 1661 and 1662.4. Portfolio c on tainin g Oaths of A llegiance, an d Oathsof A l legiance and A ssurance, take n by the Peersand C omm issioners for S hires and Burg hs inParliament, in terms of the Declaration of the

C onvent ion of E s ta tes a t Ed inbu rgh , 11 th A pr i l,1 6 8 9 ; the subsequent A ct of Pa rl iam ent , 17thJu ne , 1689, c . 2 ; and the A ct of 22nd Ju ly, 1690,c. 99, adding the A ssurance . 1689, 1690, 1693,1695, 1696, 1698 , 1700 ,1702, 1703 ,1704 (burghswanting), 1705 and 1706.

5. Portfolio co ntainin g Oaths of A llegiance andA ssur anc e, signed before th e L ords or Officers ofTreasury or Exchequer, chiefly on occasion ofta k in g a ny pu blic Office, or rece iving C har ters ofNovodamus, Gifts of Pension, Remissions, &c.1692 to 1707.

6. Two volumes contain ing O aths of A llegiance andA ssurance, from 24th Ju ne , 1693, to 6th Ja nu ary ,1702, and from 26 th S eptem ber, 1703 , to 5thA ugust, 1714.7. O aths of A llegiance tak en b y the Officers of th eMint from 1690 to 1710.8. Fo ur portfolios con tainin g Oaths of A llegiance andA ssurance tak en before or reported to the Pr ivyC ouncil . 1689 to 1692, 169 3, 1694, 1698, 1699,and 1702 to 1708.9. Portfolio containing three l ists or registers of per

sons rakin g the Oaths of A l legiance and A bjura-


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C L A S S I. continued.] [Oaths of A llegiance.t ion and subscribing th e A ssurance before th eL ords of C ouncil and S ession, w ith certificates ofthe oaths being taken by other persons qualifyingfor office by subs crib ing before C our ts in L ond on.1715-1722.

10. Portfolio containin g Oaths of A l legiance, A ssurance,and A bjurat ion under the A ct of the Par l iame ntof S cotland, 12th Ju n e, 1702, c. 1 ; th e 22 ndA rt ic le of the Tre aty of Union and En gl ish A ctsther e referred t o ; and the A ct 1 George I. , c. 13 . ,and subsequent A cts . 1707 to 1760.11. Portfolio co ntain ing O aths of A llegiance, &c.

1760-1820.12. In ve nto iy of Oaths of A llegiance signe d before th ePriv y C ounci l. 1693 to 1706.Th e " Tests " subscribed u nde r the A ct of 31st A ugu st ,1681, c. 6, will be found among th e w arra nts of th e Pr ivyC ouncil Records, infra .

Th e Bonds of A ssociation en tered into in 1696 bymembers of Parl iament and many others in support anddefence of King William on the occasion of a conspiracyaga inst h is life are placed in th e collection of S tate P ap er s.The subscription of this Bond was made obligatory on allpersons in p ub lic tru sts , civil or m ili tary, by the A ct of25 th S eptem ber, 1696, c. 3. I n th e same collection are aBond of Homage and Fealty by the Earl of Ross to KingRo bert I. in 1308 ; various Bo nds of M an ren t, b y w hichMary of Guise sought, in most cases for specified "considerat ions," to secure adhere nts dur ing the m inori ty ofQueen M ar y; and Bonds of A ssurance subscribed chieflyby heri tors in the north-eastern count ies in 1689.


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C L A S S I. continu ed.] [R ega lia, etc.3 . R e c o r d s a n d P a p e r s r e l a t i n g t o t h e R e g a l ia ,Ro y a l Ho u seh o ld , Ward ro b e , &c .

(1 ) T H E R E G A L IA .1. Record of th e proceed ings of the C omm issionappointed by w arran t of the Prince R egen t , da ted28th October, 1817, to open the chest in theC rown Room of the C astle of Ed inb ur gh , supposedto contain the Rega lia of S cotland.A Royal C ommission had been previously gran ted byGeorge IV. on 5th March, 1794, for the discovery of theRegalia, and th e C omm issioners thereb y appo inted had

reported that , on opening and inspect ing th e C rownRoom , th ey had found in it a locked oak chest for w hichthere was no key, and being doubtful of the propriety offorcing the chest they left i t unopened t i l l the royalpleasure was made know n. N oth ing further was doneun t i l 1817, when the above w arran t was gran ted auth orisi ng th e forcible ope ning of the chest. Th e volumecontains the M inutes of the C omm ission, the ir rep ort onth e discoveiy of the Re galia inside" the ch est, an d sub sequ ent proceedings, end ing w ith a m inute dated 18thDecember, 1830, w hen an addi t ion was made to theRegalia of certain jewels b equ eathe d by th e C ardinal ofYork to George IV., viz. , a collar and badge of theG arter , a n ancient rose diamond badge of S t . A ndrew, an da sapphire ring set with bril l iants supposed to be" K in g C harles ' coronation r ing."2. The Protocol Book of M r. A lexande r Baill ie, w riter

in Edinburgh, and notary publ ic , containing,among o ther Ins t rum en ts , the Notar ia l A c t andPr otes tation m ade on 26th M arch, 1707, by th edepu ty of W il l iam , Ea rl M arischal , G reat M aris-chal of S cotland, and heritable keep er of theRegalia, upon the delivery of the Regalia, viz., theC rown, S ceptre , and S word of S tate (which are


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C L A S S I. continued.] [Regalia, etc.minutely described), into the hands of David, Earlof Glasgow, L ord Trea surer D epute, in the C rownRoom of E di nb ur gh C astle, to be lodged in a chestw ithin th e said C rown Room, w ithout prejudiceto the right of the Earl Marischal to keep thesame in his C astle of Du nn otta r, as his ancestorshad hi therto done, or e lsewhere within the Kingdom of S cot land.

3 . Portfol io containing the originals of the Instrumentabove mentioned, dated 26th March, 1707, theRo yal C omm ission of 1794, and th e R oyal W ar ra nt of 1817 ; w ith the Re port made to the C ommissioners on the condition of the Regalia byProfessor Jamieson and Thomas A l lan, lapidary,th e C omm ission to th e S cott ish Officers of S tate towhom t he future care of the R egalia was en trus ted,and other letters and papers (52 in all).S ome of the foregoing docu m ents were pri nte d by the

Ba nna tyne C lub in 1829 in the volume ent i tled " Pa pers" relat ing to the R egal ia of S cot land."

(2 ) T H E R O Y A L W A R D R OB E A N D H O U S E H O L D .1. Volume containing Inventories of the Roj^al Wardrobe, Reg alia, jew els, plate, & c, and of the clothesof Queen Madeleine, in 1539, 1542, and 1543;and Inv ento ries of th e Reg alia, jewels, plate, books,furnishings, & c, which belonged to K ing Jam es

VI. , and of the art i l lery and munitions in theC astle of Ed inb urg h in 1578-9, w ith relat ive papersconsisting of memoranda, receipts, &c.2. S ix portfolios con taining similar In ven tories of themoveables, jewe ls, & c, which belonged to QueenM ary (pr in ted by the Bann atyne C lub in 1863) ,and papers consisting of detached accounts andother documents relat ing to the Royal Household

and i ts m anagem ent , from 1507 to 1685 . A n in-


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C L A S S I.continued.] [Parliament.ventory of these papers is put up with the portfolios.

3 . Vo lume cons isting of Inv entor ies of the moveableswhich belonged to the Queen Regent and to QueenM ary and the Ea rl of M oray, delivered to theQueen's valet de chambre in 1561,1562, and 1563.4. Two volumes containing accounts for apparel supplied to the King from 1590 to 1600.

4. Re co rd s of P a r l i am en t , C o n v en t io n ofE s t a t e s , a n d C o m m i t te e of E s t a t e s .( 1) P A R L I A M E N T .

From causes alluded to in th e preface to th is volume,the extant parliamentary records for the period prior tothe latter half of the 15th cen tur y are of the scantiest .Th ere remain only six rolls of proceed ings in par liam en tsheld by Joh n Baliol in 1292 and 1293 , by David I I . in1368 and 1369, and by R ober t I I . in 1388" and 13 89.M ateria ls, m ore or less au the nti c, however, for a fairlyfull histo ry of th e proc eed ings of earlier pa rlia m en ts orna tiona l councils are found in various M S . collectionswhich were used by Mr. Thomas Thomson, De puty-C lerkRegister, in the preparation of the first and secondvolumes of his edit ion of " The A cts of th e Pa rliam en ts ofS cotla nd." Of thes e collections the following aredeposited in the Register House :1. The " Berne Manu script ," a small 13 th-cen turyvolume wr it ten on vellum, and con taining theL aws of the Marches between E ngla nd and S cotland, the laws printed in the first volume ofThom son's A cts, as the " A ssisas Regis W illelmi "and the " S t a tu t a A lexandri I I . , " and th e L awsand C ustoms of the four bu rgh s of E dinb urg h,


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C L A S S I.continued.] [Parliament.Roxbu rgh , Berwick , and S t i r l ing . The M S . wasrecovered in 1814 from the Pub lic L ibra ry ofBerne.

2. The "A yr M anuscr ip t , " a vo lume w ri t ten on ve llum,in th e reign of R ob ert I. , and con tainin g collections of th e laws of S cotland, inc lud ing those ofDavid I. and Ro ber t I., the laws of the bu rgh s,the " S tatu ta G ik te , " besides m any brieves a ndother royal writs.

3 . The " Dru m m ond M anuscr ip t, " a qua r to vo lumewritten on paper about the end of the 15th century.Deposi ted in the Register House by Sir Wil l iamDrum mond of L og ie A lmond .4. The volume known as " The Black Book," a registeror abbre viate of pub lic docu m ents, and con tainingan account of parliamentary proceedings from1357 to 1402.5. The " H add ing ton M anuscript," pa rt of a P arl iam en

tary Register, containing a record of eight parliaments of Robert II . and Robert III . from 1384 to1400. The volume belonged to the first Earl ofH adding ton, appointed C lerk Reg ister in 1612.

6. Two m anu scrip ts wr it ten in the latte r half of th e15th century, and containing records, somewhatirregularly entered, of parliaments held in thereigns of Ro bert I I I . and the f irst thr ee Ja m esesfrom 1400 to 1476. These are bou nd in onevolume, and were printed in the first volume of aformer compilat ion of the S cot t ish A cts (ul t i m ately superseded by M r. Thom son's edit ion) asauth ent ic records. The y are t ran scrip ts only.Th e official R eco rd following t h e six rolls above referredto commences with the year 1466, in the reign of JamesI I I . , and con tinues , tho ug h with considerable imperfect ions , to the year 1706, when i t terminates with anincompleted entr y on 27 th Novem ber. The proceedingsof th e S ession of 1707, the last of the N ation al P ar lia -


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10C L A S S I.continued.] [Parliament.m en t, are th u s left wit ho ut any official record othe r th anthe original minutes and warrants .7. The Record is contained in 39 folio volumes (besidesthe two transcripts above referred to, which,boun d together, have b een m arke d as th e first of

the series). V olum e I I. , 1466 to 1474, is im perfect, and Vols. II I . , V. , V II . , V II I . , X II . , andXIII . are injured or incomplete .8. De creets of Forfeiture prono unced by P arlia m en tfrom 1685 to 1695 a re record ed in tw o sepa ratevolumes.9. M inutes of Pa rliam ent are contained in thr eevolumes (1) from 15th M ay, 1650, to 6th Ju n e,

1651, prin ted A .P., Vol. VI . , pa rt 2 ; (2) from 1stJanu ary to 12 th Ju ly , 1661 , p r in t ed A .P . , V I I . ,appx . pp . 1-8 2; and (3) 166 9-1674, prin tedA .P ., V II . , appx. pp. 106-115, and V II L , pp . 1-31.

Other Minutes of Parliament discovered since thepr in tin g of Mr. Thom son's edit ion of th e A cts are bou ndup , in chronological order, with the supplementary seriesof parl iam entary p apers after-mentioned.

( 2) C O N VE NT IO N O F E S T A T E S .A C onvention of Es tates differed from Pa rliam en t,according to S ir George Mackenzie, " in th at the Par lia-" m ent can both impose taxat ions and m ake la w s;" wh ereas th e C onvention of E state s can only impo se or" rat he r offer taxa tions and m ake s tatu tes for uplift ing

" those particular taxations, but can make no laws."Th e scope of th e C onvention and th e p articu lar occasion of its be ing assembled were n ot alway s, howev er,l imited to the imposit ion of a taxat ion. The C onvent ionsheld at S t i r l ing and Ed inbu rgh in 1571 and 1572 werecalled for the purpose of electing regents during them inori ty of Jam es V I. ; and at the C onvent ion in S t i r l ingin 1577 and 1578 the K in g accepted the G overnm ent,


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11C L A S S I.continued.] [Parliament.and the. R eg en t M orton dem itted office ; while th e C onventions of E sta tes of 1643 an d 1689 we nt, as th erespective, occasions required , far bey ond th e l im itsdefined by S ir Ge orge .

The only sepa rate ex tan t record of th e C onventionof Estates in this series is included in one volume,containing the A cts of the C onvent ion a t H oly-rood in 1598 and 1 5 9 9 ; th e C onventions of1643-44, 1665, 1667, and 1678.The C onvention which m et on 14th M arch, 1689, was" tu rned in to a P ar l ia m en t" on th e meet ing of th e la t te rbody on 5th Ju n e thereafter , an d as such i ts A cts arerecorded in th e series of th e official records of P ar lia m en t.

The proceedings of other C onvent ions, be ginn ing w iththat held at S t i r l ing in 1545, are recorded in th eregisters of the P rivy C ouncil .( 3) C O M M IT TE E O F E S T A T E S .

This C om m ittee was first consti tu ted, practically forthe government of the country while Parl iament was notsit t ing, by an A ct of th e second Pa rliam en t of C harles I . ,on 8th Ju n e, 1640, and con tinue d t i l l discharged b y anA ct dated 14th Jan ua ry, 164 1. I t was re-appointed,with enlar ged powers, by an A ct of the C onvention ofEstates on 26th A ugu st , 16 43, and on various datesthereafter thro ug ho ut the war, en ding with the C omm ission by th e K in g and Parl iam ent a t S t i r l ing on 3rd J un e,1651. U nde r this C omm ission no m eet ing took placet i ll 23rd A ugu st , 1660.

By these successive A cts very extensive pow ers, variedonly in term s by th e circumstances of th e t im e, and p art icularly th e att i tud e x)f P ar liam en t to th e K ing and toEngland, were conferred upon th e C om mit tee, vest ing i t ,indeed, w ith the whole functions of Pa rliam ent, as well asof the adm inistra tion a nd executive. On e half of th eC omm ittee was app ointed to be constant ly reside nt in


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12C L A S S I .continued.] [Parl iament.Ed inb urg h or other place m ost convenient , th e otherwas directed to a t te nd the army . Bo th divisions were tobe in con stant com mu nication with each other , bu t eachwas ind epe nd ent within i ts own sphere , while a quoru mof bo th was neces saiy, by the A ct of 1640, before en ga ge m en t in war or conclu ding any capitula t ion. Th e powersof the C omm ittee app ointed by th e C onvention ofEs ta tes on 29th A pri l , 1689, were more l im ited.1. Th e Record of the proceedings of th e C om mitteeprior to the protectorate is embraced in 11volumes , comm encing 28th A ugus t , 1643, and ending 22nd Ju ly , 16 51, and, after the restorat io n, intwo volumes, 23rd A ugu st to 8th Decem ber, 1660.

2. Record of th e proceedings of th e C om m ittee appoin ted a t the Revo lution, in one volume, commencing 29th A pr i l and ending 23rd May, 1689.( 4 ) O T H E R P A R L I A M E N TA R Y C O M M IT TE ES A ND

C O M M I S S I O N S .1. In terp rete rs of the A ct of Oblivion.

A c ts of the C omm it tee , ent i t led " The L ords En te r -pre ters of th e A ct of Oblivion," from M arch, 1564,to 30th A ugus t , 1569. 1 vol.Th e A ct of Oblivion or ind em ni ty for all deeds donecon trary to the law, from 6th M arch, 155$, to 1st S eptem ber, 156 1, was passed on 4th Ju ne , 1563 ; and on th esame day another A c t was passed appo int ing a C omm itteeof th e three Esta tes for the purpo se of inte rpr etin g th escope and app lication of th e A ct in litigate d cases. Th eabove volum e is a R egis ter of the ir decisions, m uchinjured and otherwise incomplete .

2. C ommittee for the C ommon Bu rdens of the Kingdom .This C omm ittee was appointed by the K ing and Parl iame nt on 15th November, 16 41, " to reduce the whole


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13C L A S S I.continued.] [Parliament." debtes, comptes and burdin gis re st ing by the pub l ik" ei ther within the kingdome or without the samen to a" full and compleet order."

Register of the C omm ittee from 19th N ovem ber,1641, to 12th Novem ber, 164 4. 1 vol.

3. C ommittees fo r Moneys, Hxcise, an d Prosecutionof Malignants.This C om m it tee was appointed on 3rd Febr uary , 1646 ,by the Par l iam ent then m eet ing a t S t . A ndrews for thepurpose of receiving sums " b or ro w ed " from variousclasses of th e com m unity for the sus tenan ce of th e a rm y

and garrison s, collecting the excise, proce eding again stand imposing fines on "m alig na nts ," ta kin g account ofthe losses susta ined by th e ope ration s of th e arm ies oneither side, and by th e qu ar ter ing of troops, for giv ingrelief accordingly, and for othe r kin dre d p urpo ses. TheC omm ittee was divided into two sections, the first (" the" C omm ittee of the N or th" ) to exercise i ts functions in th eshires of Forfar, M earns, A berdeen , Banff, Moray, Nairn,Inverness, C romarty, S utherlan d, C ai thness, and Orkn ey ;and the other (" the C om m ittee of the S outh ") for th erem aining shires and pa rts of the kingdo m . The pro ceedings of this C om mittee, and of a later C om m ittee onMoney and A ccounts, are recorded in

1. Re gister of th e C om m ittee of th e N orth , from 9thMarch to 28th October, 1646, and July, 1648.2. Re gister of the C om m ittee of the S outh, from 3rdFebruary to 26th October, 1646.3. M inu te Book of C om m ittee of M oneys, & c , from10th July, 1649, to 14th June, 1650.

4 . C ommission for the C omm unication of Trade.This C omm ission was appointed in term s of an A ct

passed on 1st S eptem ber, 16 98, to d eterm ine the differ-


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14C L A S S I.continued.] [Parliament.ences, which had been the subject of much discussion andof prece ding statu tes, betwe en Royal Bu rgh s on the onepart , and Burghs of Regality and Barony on the other, asto the communication to the latter of the exclusive privileges of foreign imp ort and exp ort, wh ich had long b eenin possession of th e f orm er; and , pa rticu larly , to fix th equo ta payable by each individu al bu rg h of reg ali ty andbarony of a contribution in relief of the taxation imposedon B ur gh s Ro yal as possessors of these p rivileges. T heproceedings of the C omm ission are recorded in a volumeentit led,

Re gister of the C omm ission of P arlia m en t for C ommunication of Trade, from 10th January, 1699, to20th March, 1700.O ther papers rela ting to the C omm ission will be foundamong the Warran ts of Par l iament .

5. C ommission on Public A ccounts.A ppoin ted by A ct of 16 th S ep tember , 1703 , to take

acco unt of the rece ipt an d disposal of all m oney s raisedon account of th e public revenues since 11 th A pril , 1689.M inutes of the C ommission from 17th S eptemb er,1703, to 3rd July, 1704, with their Report , whichis printed and bound up with the Minutes .

( 5) P A R L IA M E NT A R Y W A R R A N T S A ND O TH ER P A P E R SR E L A T IN G TO P R O C E E D I N G S I N P A R L I A M E N T .

These consist of the o riginal rolls, m inu tes, ord ers, a ndacts framed by the clerks of Pa rl ia m en t; pet i t ions pre sented to P ar lia m en t; l ists, m inu tes, and acts of comm itteesof whose proceedings no separate regis ter was kept ; and,in short , of all the documents incidental to the multifarious pro ceeding s of th e nation al council w hich were 'used by the C lerk-Register and his deput ies in framingth e official record s. I n m an y cases th ey sup ply gap s inthe record which could not otherwise be filled up.


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15C L A S S I .continued.] [Parl iament .

Such of these Warrants as were available at the t ime ofthe publication of the several volumes of Mr. Thomson'sedition of th e A cts were used in the com pilation of th atedit ion, and mostly printed in the text or appendices.A ll thes e were boun d up in chronological series tocorrespond with each volume, and are now contained in46 volum es, ex ten din g from 1526 to 1707, includ ing 10volumes of th e W ar ran ts of the C omm ittee of Estates .

Since the completion of that collection, however, a verylarge nu m ber of original W ar ra nt s has been discoveredam ong accum ulat ions of other papers . These have beencollected, arr an ge d in chronological order, index ed, andbound in 24 volumes.The w arran ts of Parl iam ent now preserved consisttherefore of

1. Warrants of Parliament, 1526 to 1707, 36 volumes.2. W arra nts of the C omm ittee of Es tates , 1640 to

1660. 10 volumes.3. Volume of Parl iamentary Papers, from 1643 to

1651, and inc luding an A ct da ted in 1581.4. S upp lem entar y S eries , from 1455 to 1707. 24

volumes.5. A portfolio of pap ers rel atin g chiefly to th e tran sa ct ions of the C omm ittee of Bu rden s and L osses,L evies, and Q ua rterin g of Troops, a collectionformerly in the possession of Robert Hepburn ofK ei th M arischal l, c lerk to the C omm ittee. 1640to 1658.6. A bun dle of reports to the C om m it tee .on L ossescaused to proprietors and their tenants and othersby th e arm y and th e enem y in and previous tothe years 1646-47.7. A portfolio of Royal L et ters to P arl iam en t .8. N ine portfolios con tain ing comm issions of rep re

sentatives to Pa rl iam ent and C onvent ions ofEstates, 1567 to 1706.


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16C L A S S I.continued.] [Parliament.

( 6) T H E P E E R A G E O F S C O TL A N D A N D R E C O R D S O F T H EE L E C T IO N S O F S I X T E E N RE PR E S E N T A T IV E P E E R S U ND ERT H E T R E A T Y O F U N I O N , T H E A C T O F T H E S C O T T IS HP A R L I A M E N T O F 5 T H F E B RU A R Y , 1 70 7, A N D T H E A C TOF T H E B R I T I S H P A R L I A M E N T 6 A N N E , C . 22 , O F 1 S T

A P R I L , 1 70 8.

1. Volume containing an extract Decreet of Rankingof the no bili ty of S cotland, dated 5th M arch,1606, pronounced in terms of a commissiongranted b y K ing Jam es V I. for the purpose ofsett l ing the frequent disputes as to precedence atthe meet ings of Parl iament and on other occasions ; w ith thr ee copies of a mem orial of t h eevidents and rig hts prod uced before the C omm ission and on which the Decreet proceeded.

2. The U nio n Ro ll of th e P eer s of S cotland. T his is acertified copy under the hand of the clerk of Parl iament .

3 . Portfolio c on tainin g 19 l ists of th e P eers of S cotlandat various dates from 1606 to 1841.4. Record of all Orders a nd Reso lutions of th e H ou seof L ords which have been com mu nicated to theL ord C lerk-Regis te r regard ing the Peerag e ofS cotland since 18 00, w ith certified Roll of th ePeers prefixed.

5. Portfolio containing the original Orders of the Houseof L ords signed by th e clerk of Pa rlia m en t, orcopies thereof, as comm unicated to the L ords C lerk-Register s ince 1707, with Inventory thereof.6. Volume containing the Roll of the Peerage as calledat Elect ions subsequent to 25th June, 1847, conform to the A ct 10 & 11 Victoria, c. 52, and s ub sequen t Resolutions of the H ouse of L ords.

7. Volume containing Schedule of the Elect ions ofrepres entive Pe ers subseq uent to 1800 prep ared


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17C L A S S I. continued.] [P riv y C ouncil.

w ith reference to th e A cts 10 & 11 Victoria, c . 52 ,and 14 & 15 Victoria, c. 87.8. Record of the Elections of representative Peers from1761 to date . 5 volum es.No formal or official record of th e proce edin gs a telections of representative Peers was prepared previousto the general election of 1761, when, on the direction ofthe Earl of M orton, then L ord C lerk-Reg ister , a recordwas commenced, which preserves full details of that andevery subsequent election up to the present date.The " W a r r a n t s " of the e lec t ions , cons is ting of th eproclamations, oaths of Pe ers , proxies , vo ting pape rs ,minutes , protests , &c, used in compiling the Record are

preserved in on e volum e (for th e election of 170 8),and in 112 portfolios. F o r th e earlier elections m an y ofthese warrants are wanting.A n accou nt of th e proce eding s at th e successive elect ions, from 1708 to 1788, was published by M r. W ill iamRobertson, dep uty-keep er of th e Records, in 1790.

5. R ecord s of th e P r iv y C ounc il.A s dis t in ct from th e General or N ational C ouncil outof which Pa rl iam ent was evolved, th e Priv y C ouncilappears to have been represented in the earl ier centuriesof aut hen tic S cott ish his tory by th e body described asthe K ing 's C ouncil , or, wh en exercis ing judic ia l functions,as th e K in g's C ourt, cons istin g of th e prin cip al officers of

S tate or of th e Ro yal Ho useho ld and of such o thers asthe King himself might se lect to deliberate with them onm atters of public concern, or to decide in causes ofimp ortance. I t is f irst nam ed as th e K ing 's S ecret orPr ivy C ounc il in an A c t of Pa r l iam ent of 3rd F ebrua ry ,1 4 | $ , by which certain persons of the three estateswere appo inted of th e Ki ng 's S ecret C ouncil, bo th forthe a dm inistra t ion of just ice and a lso for other matte rsB


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19C L A S S I.continued.] [P rivy C ouncil." C on cili i" contains a record of th e judicia l ac ts of th eC ouncil from 1478 to 1532, and is include d am on g th eother jud icial reco rds, p . 81 postca. I n thes e, as wellas in the earlier records of th e C ourt of S ession, pr oceedings relating to public matters are also occasionallyrecorded. I n 1545 a new series was comm enced andcontinu ed, wh ich co ntain s a full record of all th e pro ceedings of C ouncil, ad m inis trativ e as well as judic ial.The publication of these, comm enced in 1877 und er th eeditorship of Dr. H ill Bu rton , was con tinued und er th atof Professor M asson, and , since his re tire m en t, is nowproceeding under that of Professor Hume Brown.

( 1) T H E R E C O R D S .The Records o ther tha n the A cta Do m inorum ending in1532 consist of the following series :

1. 52 volumes, beginning in June, 1545, and endingon 30th A pri l , 1707. These volumes contain ,up to A ugus t , 1610, both the " A cta ," or publ icand adm inist rat ive A cts of the C ouncil , and the" Decreta ," or jud gm en ts pronou nced in causescom ing before the C ouncil in i ts judicial capac ity.A fter 1610 this series conta ins th e A cta only.A m ong the A cta of the C ounci l are recorded theproceed ings of m any of the C onventions of Es tatespr inte d in M r. Thom son's ed it ion of th e A cts ofPar l iament .

2. Tw enty-e ight volumes co ntain ing th e D ecreta from23rd A ug ust , 1610, to 12th M arch, 1705.There are unfortunately gaps and imperfections in bothseries, as from 1646 to 1 66 1, for w hich p eriod no re cord sof the C ouncil are extan t , tho ug h i t cont inued to m eetand act t i l l superseded by the gov ernm ent of theC omm onwealth. Both are resumed in 1661 and c ont inuet i ll 1678, when there is a blan k t i l l A ug ust , 1682. A fter1685 th e record ag ain disapp ears till 1689, from w hichdate there is no break t i l l the Union.


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20C L A S S I.co ntinued.] [Priv y C ouncil.

The gaps occurring in the two series are to some extentsupplied by the following collateral or subsidiary Recordsand by ex tan t Warran ts .1. S ix volumes of S ederu nt Books of the Pr ivy C ouncilfrom 14th December, 1598, to 9th November,

1643, volumes 2, 3, and 4 being incomplete.These are brief M inutes of the Privy C ouncil m eetin gs.2. M inu te Books of the Pr ivy C ouncil, in thre e volumes.(1) Minute Book of Processes from January,1604, t o January , 1631 .(2) M inute Book, 2nd Ja nu ar y, 1696, to 28thDecember, 1699.

(3) Min ute Book, 2nd Jan ua ry , 1700, to 25thJanuary , 1707 .3. A tran scr ipt , in one volume, of the entries from 28th

M arch, 160 5, to 11 th Ju ly, 1606 , contained inS kene 's A bridg m ent of the R egisters of the PrivyC ounci l.4. A cts of C aut ion, in 12 volumes, com m encing on

28th Jan uar y , 1575 , and ending 13th Ju ly , 166 4 .A record of Bonds of C aution or security granted tothe Pr ivy C ouncil for pa ym en t of fines, com pearance ofpa rties cited or released from wa rd, and on oth er occasions. No record from De cem ber 1611 to 1618 inclusive,1620, and 1629 to 1660 inclusive. T he earlier volum esin some cases overlap.5. C ommissions by th e Pr ivy C ouncil . Three volumes,viz.:(1) Fro m 24th S eptember, 1607, to 22nd May,

1616.(2) From 13th Ju ne , 1616, to 30 th M arch, 1624.- (3) Fro m 3 0th March, 1624, to 8th S eptem ber,1630.A register of comm issions, l icenses, & c , gran ted bythe P rivy C ouncil for special purpose s.6. Volum e con tainin g a record of fines imposed by th eC ouncil from 1 0th Fe brua ry, 1614, to 30 th Ju n e,1631 , for various offences.


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21C L A S S I.con tinued.] [Privy C ouncil.

7. Reg ister of the proceeding s of a R oyal C omm issionappointed by King James VI. to consider thegrievances of his S cott ish su bjects, be gin nin g inM ay, 162 3, and endin g 21st Ju ly , 1626. 1 vol.8. Records rela ting to th e repression of disorders an dpreservation of the peace in the Highlands andIslands and on the Borders, viz. :

(1) A cts of the C omm ission for ke epin g order inthe Highlands and Islands from 29th July, 1587,to 29th Ju ne , 1602. 1 vol.(2) A cts of th e same C ommission from 10thM arch, 1608, to 12th S eptem ber, 1623. 1 vol.(3) Volum e containing A ccounts of the Fine simposed on th e rese tters of the C lan Gregor from1612 to 1618, and of which a proportion (22J percent . ) was payable into the royal Treasury. S eeM inute of th e Privy C ounci l of 22nd Ju ly, 1613,printed P.O., Vol. X., 1st series, page 108.(4) C ourt Book of the C omm issioners of J us t i ciary for the Borders from 21st May, 1622, to19th A pril , 1623 . 1 vol.(5) Bond s of C aution grante d in 1635-36.(6) A cts and Orders of the Priv y C ounci l w ithreference to the Borders from Ja nu ar y, 1603 , to3rd Ja nu ary , 1643. 1 vol.(7) Re gister of the C omm issioners for th epacification of th e Hig hla nd s and repo rts of the irproceed ings to the C ouncil from 1682 to 1686.1 vol.

These volumes record for the ir respective periods th eproceedings of the C ouncil and of various C omm issionsunder the A ct of Pa rl iam ent 1587, c. 59, and other A cts .9. Record of C omm issioners of th e Peac e from A ug us t,

1610, to 8th No vem ber, 1639. 1 vol.10. Reg ister of the C om mit tee of the C ounci l appointedby a Royal C ommission and relative instruct ions,dated 18th Jan ua ry, 1678, for suppressing con-


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22C L A S S I.con tinued.] [Privy C ouncil .

vent icles , punishing reset ters of intercommunedpersons, &c, in the western shires, usually called" Th e C omm ittee of the W est ." One volume,commencing 24th January and ending 27thA pri l, 1678 .11 . Re gister of th e C om m ittee of C ouncil ap poin ted for

similar purposes in the southern shires by a RoyalC omm ission, elated 6th S eptem ber, 1684. Onevolume, commencing 25th September and ending15th December, 1684.12. Re gister of Royal L ette rs directed to the C ouncil , inthree volumes, viz . :(1) Fro m 10th May, 1559, to 2nd M arch, 1567 .(2) From 12th Janu ary , 1604, to 6 th March, 1612.

(3) From 19 th S eptemb er, 1623 , to 17th M ay,1632,A nothe r volume contains a t ransc ript of le t tersselected from Vol. 2.The originals of the Royal L etter s, so far as preserved,will be found am ong the W ar ra nt s of the C ouncil , infra.

13. Volume containing an Inv ento ry of Royal L et tersdirected to the C ouncil , Proclam ations by theC ouncil, and Bond s for Fin es imposed for no ttaking the oaths of allegiance and assurance from21st Ju n e, 1689, to 1 8th N ovember, 1701.

( 2) W A R R A N T S O F T H E P K I V Y C O U N C I L R E C O R D SA N D R EL A T IV E P A P E R S .

The Warrants which instruct the official Records of theC ouncil are a rrang ed in chronological series to correspondwith the publ ished volumes.1. Th e volumes so bou nd a re 21 in num ber, da ting from

1545 to 1632. T he re ar e also 4 3 po rtfoliosarranged, embracing the warrants from 1633 to1708, to be sim ilarly boun d as th e publicationproceeds, besides


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23C L A S S I. continued.] [Privy C ouncil.

2. A portfolio of pap ers rela ting to Jus tice s of th ePeace, 1608 to 1615.3. Portfolio of papers relating to prosecutions forwitchcraft from 1617 to 1704.4. Portfolio containing letters and testimonies ofC ovenanters from 1675 to 1689, and consisting

largely of rud e trans crip ts, prob ably m ade forcirculation among friends of the proscribedpersons.5. Thre e portfolios of Royal L etter s directed to th e

C ouncil from 1686 to 1707.

6 . A b s t r a c t s o f t h e R e c o r d s of t h eS ec re ta ry 's Office.Nine volumes containing copies of the corresponding" W ar ra nt Books for S cotland ," of w hich th e fullseries from 1670 to 176 5 is in t he P ub lic Rec ordOffice in L ond on. S ix of th e volum es are con-secutive from 15th O ctober, 1684, to 1 6th Novem -ber, 1688. Th e rem ain ing thre e cover the periodfrom 10th Ju ne , 1704, to 3rd Febru ary, 1709.

7 . P r o c l a m a t i o n s .The collection of Proclamations consists of threeportfolios in m anu scrip t d atin g from 1661 to 1706 ;

six portfolios of pr in te d proc lam ations from 160 3to 1750 ; a bu nd le of dup licates from 1741 to1750 ; and, finally, four bundles of Royal Proclama-tions on par chm ent d atin g from 1727 to 1820 andfrom 1832 to 1847.


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24C L A S S I.co ntinued.] [S tale Pa pers .

8. C o l lec t ions o f Or ig ina l Do cu m en ts an dR e g i s t e r s r e l a t i n g t o M a t t e r s of S t a t e .1. A collection of docum ents (mo stly origin al) rela ting

to m atter s of S tate , from 1292 onwards, w ith adetailed chronological inventory.This collection, among many other documents, includesthe Indenture of 1292 between Baliol and Edward I. asto the S co t ti sh m un im en ts ; th e L e t te r addressed to th ePo pe by the prelates and barons assembled at t he ab beyof A berbrothock, dated 6th A pri l , 1320, assert ing th eindependence of S cot land ; th e D eclarat ion b y th eMagnates and others assembled at Scone in 1371 for thecoronat ion of Robert II . recognising his son, John, Earl

of C arrick (afterwards Ro bert II I. ), as the tr ue heir tothe C rown, and the A ct of S et t lemen t made at S cone in1373 reg ula ting th e succession ; th e abortive T rea ty ofU nion w ith E ng lan d in 16 04 ; various copies of theN at ional C ove nan t ; and the Trea ty of U nion of 1707 ,besides original let ters of James V., Queen Mary, QueenEliza beth , C romwell , and others.2. A collection of the tr eatie s w ith Eng land , and other

original pap ers incid ent to the relations betw eenthe two countries , commencing with the t reatyof N orth am pton in 1328. 123 docum ents, w ith aninventory .3. A collection of the trea ties w ith F ran ce and otherrelative papers , com m encing w ith th e t re atybetween C harles IV . of F rance and Rob ert I . in1326. 76 d ocum ents, besides a volume of originalpapers relative to the public negotiations betweenJam es IV . and Jame s V . of S cot land, and L ouisX I I . and Francis I. of France, 1511-1517, with aninventory.4. C ollection of t reat ies w ith No rway and D enm arkand relat ive papers , including th e t re aty w ithHa co V . , K in g of Norw ay, in 13 12, and th e


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25C L A S S I . continued.] [S tate Pap ers.

Marr iage C ontrac t be tween Jam es VI . and A nneof D en m ark in 1589. 17 docu m ents, w ith a ninventory .5. C ollection of 14 do cum ents inciden t to th e relat ionsbetween Scot land , the Empire , Burgundy, and theL ow C ountries , including a le t ter of th e Em perorC harles V . accr edit ing two envoys authorised toconfer on James V. the Order of the GoldenFleece, and the oath taken by James on hisinvest i ture , with an inventory.6. M S . collection of Royal and other letters en ti t led

" Ep istoke Beg um S cotorum ," 1505 to 1608. Avolume of 146 folios, of which 20 are blank.7. M S . collection of Royal L ette rs also enti t le d" Epistolae R eg um S cotorum ," 1534 to 1 545 . Avolum e of 68 folios, of w hich thre e are blan k. I n jure d by damp . Presented by L ord Elphins tone in

1865.8. Volum e con tainin g a collection of Royal L ette rs and

S ta te Pap ers . 1543 to 1579.9. Vo lume con taining contem porary copies of le t ter sand S ta te Pa pers . 1553-5 and 1571-2 .10. A collection of original correspondence r ela ting topublic affairs, chiefly during the regencies of theEarl of A rra n an d Queen M ary of Guise, in twoportfolios.

11. Volum e containing a t ransc ript of th e ins truct ionsgiven by K ing H enry V II I . to S i r Ralph S adler ,his ambassador in S cot land, with his L et te rs ofS tate , du ring his negot iat ions there in 1539 and1543. Presented by Wil l iam Moir Bryce , Esq .

12. V olum e of S tyles con tainin g a collection of Ro yalL et ter s and other correspondence and papersrel atin g to affairs of S tate du rin g th e E ar l ofM ar's regenc y, 1571-72, and later dates to 1614.The volume has an index prefixed.

13. Portfolio of Roya l L ette rs. 1567 to 168 8.


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26C L A S S I.continued.] [S tate Pap ers.14. The Pacification of P er th, 23rd Fe bru ary , 15 7 f Acontem porary t ran scrip t of th e ind en ture sonam ed between the K ing 's p arty and the E arl ofHunt ly and Lord John Hamil ton , commendatorof A rbroath, for themselves and their kin .15. Four small volumes containing papers relative to the

Pl an tati on of U lster. 1601 to 1628.16. Re gister of Royal L et ters k ep t by S ir W il l iamA lexander of M enstrie , princ ipal secretary ofS tate , and afterwards Ea rl of S t i r ling, comm encing26th Jan ua ry, 1626, and en ding 31st December,1631 .

17. Reg ister of Royal L et ters , 170 7-171 1. One volume,wri t ten up only to page 13.18. Volume containing a collection of original papersrelat ing to the negot iat ions with the King andthe Engl i sh Par l iament , commencing 24 th Feb ruary, 164 1, and ending 27 th A ugus t , 1646.19. Procee dings of the S cots C omm issioners for conclud

ing art ic les of Treaty with the King and theEn glish Parl iam ent , from 22nd Novem ber, 164 1,to 18 th Ju ly, 164 2. 1 vol.20. Pro ceed ings of th e S cots C omm issioners for conserving

the art ic les of the Treaty between both kingdoms,from 22nd S eptem ber, 164 2, to 8th Ju ly , 164 3.1 vol.21. Re gister of L et ters to and from th e S cots C omm issioners in L ondon, 1st Jan ua ry to 3rd M ay, 1642,and 5th Feb ruary , 1644, to 16 th A ugust ,' 164 5.

1 vol.22. Reg ister of N egot iat ions between the S cots C omm issioners in L ondon and the Engl ish Pa rl iam ent andC omm ittee, f rom May, 1643 , to A ugust , 1647 .1 vol.

23. Reg ister of th e C omm ittee of both kingdom s, 1stvol. , from 16th February, 1644, to 12th February,1645.


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27C L A S S I. continued.] [S tate Pape rs.24 . The same Register, 2nd vol. , from 13th Februaryto 11th December, 1645.25. Register of Instru ct ions to the S cots C omm issioners

in L ondon, & c, from 9th Ja nu ary , 1644, to 23rdS eptem ber, 1646. 1 vol.26. L et ter Book of Jam es Joh nston , Joint-S ecretary forS cotland w ith the M aster of S tair, from 23rdFebruary, 1692, to 23rd January, 1694.27. Jo urn als of the C omm issioners for th e U nio n of theK ingdom s, com mencing 27th October, 1702, anden din g 3rd Feb ruar y, 1703. 1 vol.

The Jo urn al is closed by the Q ueen's let ter adjou rningthe m eeting s of th e C omm issioners to the 4 th October,1703. The Scot t i sh Par l iament on 9 th Sep tember , 1703 ,declared th e C omm ission at a n end, and th at ther e shouldbe no new C omm ission for tre at in g of a union betw ixtthe kingdoms without consent of Parl iament .

The C omm issioners again met unde r new C omm issions,dated respectively 27 th Fe bru ary an d 10th A pri l ,1706, and their proceedings are recorded in28. Jou rnals comm encing 16th A pri l , 1706, and ending

w ith th e pre sen tation to th e Queen of th e com pleted Tr eaty on 23rd Ju ly thereafter. 1 vol.29. A ddresses again st the U nion in thre e portfolios fromthe shires , parishes, and burghs respect ively.30. Volume containing an i l luminated and duly authent i

cated copy of the A ct of the En gl ish Pa rl iam entratifying the Treaty of Union.31. Volume contain ing a le t ter , d i rected by S ir R obert

Peel at the command of George IV. to the Officersof S tate in S cotland, expre ssing His M ajesty 's' ' unqualified approbation " of all the arran gem entsmade preparatory to his recept ion and during hisstay in S cot land. Dated at Ed inb urg h, 29thA ugus t , 1822 .


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29C L A S S I. continued.] [Grown Pa trim on y.

The revenue received b y th e C omptrol ler was chargedwith the ordin ary expenses of m ainte nan ce of the royalhousehold and stables, th e fees or salaries of the hou sehold officers and servants, and the expenses of the lordsof Ex che qu er an d the s alaries of th ei r officers. T heTreasurer 's disbursem ents w ere m ore mu lti farious, an dconsisted of th e cost of ere cting and m ain tain ing th eroyal castles an d palaces, th e expe nses of th e house holdnot provided for by the C om ptroller, th e supp ly ofart i l lery and other engines of war and the paymentof th e m en emplo}red in th ei r service, th e special giftsand rewards made by the K in g to royal servan ts andothers, th e expense of th e chapel royal an d all religiousofferings and alms, and the costs incurred in summoningParl iament , making proclamations, and execut ing theK ing 's w rits. I t cann ot be said, however, tha t , in detail ,the disburs em ents applicable to t he several bran che s ofthe rev enu e w ere at all tim es precise ly defined orobserved or were, indeed, understood by the officers concerned them selv es; for th e A ct 1592, c . 41 , ordained th efour ordinary officers (the comptroller, treasurer, collector,and secretary) " to agree am ong themselves w hat duly" and pro per ly ap pe rta in s to every one of the ir offices."Do ubtless, th e K ing 's pre

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