No. II.

ACCOMPT OF THE CONVENTION OF THE ESTATES IN JUNE 1678, WITH THE REMARKABLE OCCURRENTS THAT HAPPENED THEREIN.

28 May 1678. AT SECRET COUNCELL, his Majefties letter for holding ane Convention of Eftates at Edinburgh, on the 26 of June nixt, was red, and proclamed at the Mercat Croce of Edinburgh; see the printed proclamation as alfo, the double of the commiffion to the Duke of Lauderdale, to be his Commiffioner therin, with this extraordinary claufe, that he fhould continue in that character after the ending of the Convention, ay and whille [till] he fhould fee his Majefties face, and come in his prefence. It's true, Rothes, after the Parliament was diffolved in 1663, continued Commiffioner for two or three years, but it was not by vertue of any clause in his firft commiffion. It was queftioned by fome whow it came to be indicted only upon 29 dayes, wheiras it was ever understood, that all fummonitions to Parliaments, or Conventions of the States, used ever to run on forty dayes citation and præmonition. [Acts of Parliament fhould be proclamed on 40 dayes, and till then they are not obligatory nor binding, A& 128, Parliament 1581.] It was anfwered, 1o That Conventions might be, by the laws and cuftomes, called on 20 dayes. 2do. In emergencies and urging and preffing affairs, the tyme might be abridged pro re nata ubi periculum in mora; and their was no ftatute requiring 40 dayes promulgation. 3tio. If their was any anticipation, it was fupplyed by writing particular letters, and fending them with expreffes to

1 From Folio MS. marked A. fol. 322-326.

each fhire and borrow; to give them tymeous notice, which is all the intent of the 40 dayes intimation.

See what hes been Craig's opinion of Conventions of Eftates, pag. 38 of his books de Feudis. See a little touch of the power of fuch Conventions in that paper befyde me, called "Reasons why Taxations fhould be raised, after the old way, upon the Pound Land:" it's folio 73 of the book wheir it's engroft. See A&t 13, Parl. 1661, wheir the King hes promifed to raise no more Ceffe. Item, A& 49, the fame Parliament, wheir annuel-rents at 6 per cent. are declared free of all retention fees, or other burden. See reafons at large, alibi, why money, being allodiall, cannot be burdened as land is.

As for the extraordinar favors the King hes fhowen to the Duke of Lauderdale, in refufing to hear all his ennemies, cloathing him in purple royall robes, making him a Duke, and partaker of his dominions, and his cheiff freind, fome think it a parallell cafe what Alexander did to Jonathan the Hy Preift, in the 1 book of the Maccabees, 10 chapter, verse 61, et fequentibus.

In choifing the Commiffioners for fhires and borrows their was great heat and contention, and much briguing to mould them to the Duc of Lauderdale's ftamp. In fundry fhires the elections ware double, as in the Merfe, Air, Renfrew, &c. In Renfrew, 4 gentlemen made a feceffion from the reft, and choiced 2 of themfelfes, viz. Colin Campbell of Blythfwood, my brother in law, and Bannatyne of Kellie; which election could not fubfift in law, because, by the 113 A& of the Parliament in 1587 all fuch comiffions ought to be fealled and fubfcryved with 6, at leift, of the Barrons and Freeholders of the fhire from which they are fent ;-this number they will not get in Clackmannan, and fome fhires, as Cromartie; and the 272 A& Parliament 1597, requires the commiffions be granted in a full Convention of the haill Barrons, and fubferyved by a great number of them.

It was ftarted as a quæftion, whither the late bond against Conventicles,

that hes bred fo much disturbance, could be put to the members of the Fol. 322. Convention of Eftates, theirby to purge of and feclude fome difaffected

doune or rifings; nor According to the in

members; and it was thought no ty could be impofed upon them, but
what was prærequired by fome law, and their was no law incapacitating
the refufers of the bond from being members of Parliament. Their was,
indeed, the 5* A&t of the Parliament in 1662, ordaining the Declaration to
be tane by all members of Parliament, but, the A&t not mentioning Con-
ventions of Estates, it may feeme their is no warrand in law for impofing
the Declaration on the members of a Convention, fince they are jura dif-
parata. Yet this A&t of Parliament 1662 hes a generall in it, and custome
fince hes extended it to all our Conventions; and, accordingly, the Decla-
ration was tane by all the members of this Convention 1678.
Conventions use not to be riden at their fitting
the crown, fword, and other honors, brought to it.
diction, the Convention fate doune on the 26 of June 1678, and the Com-
miffioner came to the Secret Councell chamber, wher they did meet,
accompanied with 30 coaches. The prayers ware faid by Dr. Bruce, Arch-
deacon of St. Androis; the rolls called, and the Declaration fubfcryved,
and his Majefties letter red. The Comiffioner propofed that the House
behooved to be first conftitute, and the controverted elections cleared and
difcuft, before they could fall to any bufines; and that the easiest and
speediest way of doing that, was for him to name a Committee to report.
First, it was preffed, things might be done in plain Convention. This
being rejected, then it was fought the Committee might be open, that
every member might have acces if he pleased. It was condefchended to,
that if any member had ane objection against a commiffion, he should be
admitted to give it in to the Committee; then the debate arofe, How,
and by whom the Committee should be named? Duke Hamilton took
the fpeach, and told, that no man payed greater refpect and deference to
the Royall Praerogative then himselfe; yet he conceaved it was the privi-

ledge of Conventions and Parliaments, that they fhould nominat and appoint their oune Committees, and that it was done fo in the Parliament 1661. The Earle of Argile anfwer'd, that was but a late inftance. The Duke mistaking it, as if he had called it a lame instance, said, that it was the Parliament that had moft largely explained his Majefties right and praerogative. St. Androis replyed, it was but a lame Parliament in 1661, for it wanted the Spirituall Eftate; and Parliaments fince, (meaning the 1 A&t in 1669,) had afferted the King's fupremacy more then it; at which [the] Archbishop of Glasgow, they fay, took privatly exception. The Earle of Perth, and Laird of Broomhall fpoke a litle. Then the Comiffioner ftopped the debate, and told, Whither the nomination ware a branch of the praerogative or not, he hoped the Convention would not refuse him the power to name the members. Wheirupon the most part of them ftood up, and without voting it, defired he might name the Committee, which accordingly he did, 6 bifchops, 10 noblemen, 10 gentlemen, and 10 borrows, befyde the officers of state. Then the Earle of Drumfreis produced a decreet of improbation against Richard Moray of Brughton, elected Commiffioner for the Stewartry of Galloway, finding a wryt to have been forged by him, in a matter betuen him and on Thomas Lennox, a glover, and declaring him infamous, and incapable to bear honor or dignity for the fame, and defired to know if it was credit or intereft of the Court to have fuch a member. The defences proponed for Brughton, are, 1o. He was only denonced fugitive for not underlying the law, which is no probation of his guilt. 2do. Eflo, he has a remiffion which redintegrats his fame. Yet Lex 3 C. de Generali Abolitione: Indulgentia quos liberat, notat, &c. Vide fupra folio 234; fee more of Brughton's cafe, folio 324, infra. It was referred to the Comittee to be confidered likewayes, who ware appointed to meet Thurfday the 27 of June, both fornoon and afternoon, and on Friday the 28 in the fornoon, that they might be ready with their report against Friday, in the afternoon.

At which time the 2d meeting of the Convention was keept, but fate very fhort whille; on this pretence, that the affair was not fully digested nor ripened by the Committee, for a report. But the true caufe was, the tuo Dukes ware capitulating, to fee if they could be drawen to ane underftanding, to goe on in a joint courfe; wheiron it was adjourned to Saturday the 29 of June, in the afternoon, which was thought a very unusuall tyme. The report of the toune was, that the Commiffioner had, to ensure the Fol. 323a. Borrows to himselfe, promised their should be no retention of the annuellrents. Many ware of the opinion, that it exceeded the limits of the Convention's power to retaine, fince, by the 49 A&, Parliament 1661, annuells being reduced to 6 per cent, it's declared they fhall be free of all retention, or other public burden. Now, this being fecurity given by a Parliament, it could not be infringed nor altered by any thing leffe then a Parliament. It was rumored, tho they did it not by way of retention, yet they might doe it by taxing and affeffing money, and the perfonall eftates, and for discovery theirof, cause the perfones depone, as was practifed by the A& of the Taxation in 1633. But this burden of retention, or ceffing perfonall eftates, is a moft unequall greevance; for lands pay according to their valued rents; now, the valuations are ofttymes a 3a within the true rent; wheiras money valet feipfum, and the full extent of its interest and annuelrent is knowen to be 6 for each hundred, and the creditor nather gets, nor may take any more; fo that retention of on of 6 from a monied man, is the 6t part of his full rent; wheiras the tax on landed men will feldom be the 16 part of their reall true rent, which is concealled and not knowen by the valuations; and the true proportion of retention of annuel-rents for adjusting it with the ceffe on land rent, and making ane æquality in the burden, is, that the annuels for a yeir be only 5 and a halfe per cent., and the other halfe be retained or payed in to the publick; which answers as if the annuells ware at 12 in the hundred, and on of that 12 ware payed. Befydes, it ware a greivous burden to make retention, which mainly falls