Judicial Proceeding, 10 December 1700, Edinburgh

Att Edinburgh The Nynth day of January J^aj vii^c years

A1700/1/10

A1700/1/10¹

Act

Act In favours of Alexr Maxwell Post-master at Air

Anent The Petition given in to the Lords of his Majesties privy Councill By Alexander Maxwell Post-master att Air Shewing That their Lordships by their act of the Fifteen of December J^aj vi^c nynty Eight, having granted Commission to him To put the Acts and proclamationes made against the Importing of Irish Cattle to due Execution. And To Seaze and apprise such as should be Imported after his Commission att any pairt betwixt the Firth of Sillway and the Sound of Mull, and to Exact Ane Hundered merks from the Importer or Resetter of Each Beast, The one half wherof to be furthcoming to the Lords of Thesaury; And For hes Encouragement not only allowed him the Kings half of the Said Seafares; But likeways Recomended² him to the Saids Lords of Thesaury for Ane Hundered pound Sterling, And he having Found Sufficient caution, For his faithfull Executeing the said Commission under the pain of Two Hundered pound Sterling, And having accordingly used his outmost Endeavors, and all the diligence that man was Capable to use; And having severall tymes gone over the whole Bounds of his Commission, and Established waiters and Spyes over all the Coast, which put him to Considerable charge and Expenses. And upon the notice or discovery of any Irish Cattell having procured parties sometymes of Souldiers, and at other tymes of Countrey men and Servants to his assistance he always made or Endeavoured to make Seazure of all Such Cattell, as he could discover to be Imported, To the hazard oftimes of his own and the lives of these Imployed by him, And many tymes after Seasures have been made and the horse gott into his Custody, He and those Imployed by him, have been assaulted by greater numbers and Force and their selves wounded and the horse rescued, whereof many Instances can be given, Particularly once at the Gorbells of Glasgow, his pairty was besett by a great number of men and discharged by them, and Four horse taken from them and another tyme att Lochwinzeoch his pairtie mett with the same Treatment, and Two Horse were Taken from them, and many other Instances could be given, So That albeit he rides always in the night time, and is att great charge with pairties whom he must carry along with him, and hes been Sometymes five or Six Weeks absent from his house att one tyme, and all that space scarce Three or Four night in his Bed, yet when any Seazures is gott, he runs Less hazard in keeping therof, unless he have considerable force, for his Security, and there preservation, And Seing the saids Seazures are not Sufficient to defray the Expenses he is thereby necessarly put to; And Seing also Severall other persones take upon them, to make Sham Seazures, and upon pretence thereof, and for small Compositiones being neither lyable to any diligence nor accountable for these actiones connive att and Encourage the Importation and Render his Endeavours both more odious and In Effectuall And Seing also the Souldiers oftimes decline, To give their assistance, albeit he mantains them and defrays all their Charges whom he Employs and he being Resolved by all means possible to make the Restraint Effectuall, So that dayly he is to Expect fewer Seasures. And Therfore Humbly Craveing to the Effect underwritten as the said Petition bears The Saids Lords of his Majesties privy Councill, Having Considered this petition given in to them by the within Alexander Maxwell, They doe heirby authorize the Petitioner, To call all such persones who take upon them, the Execution of the within Laws and acts to ane account, before any Judge Competent for what Seazures they make, and for what Importationes they authorize or Connive att, And Recomends to the Lords Commissioners of his Majesty’s Thesaury, To appoint to the Petitioner ready payment of the Hundered pounds Sterling allowed to him by the Councill for his Encouradgement.