Edinburgh The Tuenty fifth of Apprill J^aj vij^c and four years

A1704/4/8

A1704/4/8¹

Decreet

Decreit The agent for the Kirk Againest The sherriff depute of Ross

Anent The Lybell or Letters of Complaint raised and perseued befoir the Lords of Her Majesties privie Councill at the Instance of John Blair agent for the Kirk And Sir James Steuart Her Majesties Advocat By speciall ordor of privy Councill and for Her highness Intrest Mentioning That where By the Lawes and Acts of parliament All sherriffs and there Deputs ought to mentain the Lawes and see the same duely Execute and ought more especially to concurr and give there assistance for mentaining of the Lawes establishing the present Church Government and for hindering all attempts and Incroachments against the same conterar to the said Lawes as being of speciall Import to the pace and quiet of the Kingdome As Lykewayes they ought to use there best and outmost Endevours to preserve the pace prevent tumults and Rablings and punish the same when they happen with all Impartiallity and severitie And above all ought to administrat Justice Impartially amongest all pairtes according to the trew intent of the Law and for punishing the guilty and Assolzeing of the Innocent or other wayes if they failzie in there duety in the premisses ought to be depryved and other wayes punished conforme to the Demerit Nevertheless It is of verity That the Church of Dinguall falling to vaike in the moneth of January last And the presbitrie haveing appoynted Mr William Steuart one of their number to supplie the said vaccancie He comeing there upon the sabbath morning in paceable manner and was assaulted by a Rable and forcibly shut up in his own Chamber untill that Sir Robert Monro of Foulis and some others of the nighbouring paroch of Kilterane wherof Mr William is Minister Comeing to Dinguall to hear there oun Minister there and understanding he was shut up and attackt him Came to relive him And haveing thereafter brought him to the Kirk and made access for him to preach The forsaid Rable Did still continue to Interrupt the worship and prophane the Lords day and gitting assistance from ill disposed nighbours Did at length forceibly Invade the Kirk frighted away the people threatned the Minister in the pulpit and by plain threats and force drove him out of the pulpit And then as he was withdrawing throw the Church yeard attackt him againe And these of his hearers who were desireous to protect and save him so that they not only laid hold on him But by battons, staves and stones Beat and bruised severall persones in a most atrocious manner Wherby there was a most violent and insolent ryot committed at the said Kirk of Dinguall on the said Lords day to the manifest prophanation of the sabbath and breack of the pace And particular Injuries done to severall person’s All which being quickly that same or the nixt day made knowen to Mr George McKinzie Inchculter shirriff Deput He was so farr from discurradgeing and punishing (As he ought to have done) The forsaid Rablers and Ryoters that in the first place supposeing that the presbitrie might send the nixt Lords day to supplee the said vaccancie at Dinguall And that Sir Robert Monro and some of his people might repace thither as they had done and very Laufully The very Lords day preceeding He Joyning with the Lord McCleod write a Letter to Sir Robert in these termes Wee are sorrie to hear² that the Disorder The last Lords day at Dingwall was occasioned by yow and your tennendrie and followers And we doe requyre yow that neither ye nor nor³ any of your tennendrie or followers come to Dinguall the nixt Lords day to shun any farder Disorder or breach of the pace As yow shall be answerable This is the advyce of your most humble servants Mcleod George McKinzie As the forsaid Letter ready to be produced Daited the Tuenty first of the said moneth January and directed to the said Robert Monro Bears Wherby it is evident That the said Sherriff Deput Chairges the said Sir Robert and his men as the occasion of the said Rable Though boeth Innocent and the only persones that suffered by it And Farder That they had prevented it to goe to a greater excess of violence as in all appearance it would As Lykewayes The said Sherriff presumed upon that pretext to restrain them in boeth ther Civill and Religious Libertie and commanded them at his oun hand to forbear so much as goeing to Church as they would be answerable But Secundo The said Sherriff Deput who could not be Ignorant of the forsaids Rebells how raised and carried on and what mischeiff it had done yet goes on to sett a Court and to receave a Lybell at the Instance of his oun procurator fiscall againest Sir Robert Monro and a great many of his men as guilty on the account forsaid of ane unlaufull convocation and a great ryot of Batterie and blood albeit he knew And it was nottour that Sir Robert and his men had Innocently followed there oun Minister to hear sermon in Dinguall the nixt adjacent kirk where he was to preach and that they were so farr from haveing done any Injurie That they only relived the Minister and brought him out saiflie to the kirk and were hearing quietly when againe assaulted and cheassed away and the Minister dragged or driven from the pulpite and that when they and the Minister were endevouring to withdraw from farder skaith They were againe assaulted Beat and bruised and that nothing happened to the pretended persewars but through ther owen default and by ther oun procurement so that this procedure of the sherriff Deputs was in effect a manifest scorne of Justice to encurradge the Rablers and Ryoters and oppress the Innocent sufferers And yet when Sir Robert and his men appeared and represented the matter as it was And Therfore declyned the sherriff as in a matter so nearlie concerning the constitution of the Church and quiet of the state and therfor proper for the privie Councill The shirriff refuised the declinator and still sustained himself Judge as to the Royt blood and Batterie and only remitted the matter of the Convocation to the privie Councill Which was yet a farder scorne of Justice It haveing been certainly his deuty to try and cognose the blood with als weell as the blood and withall Imposible to distinguish right from wrong without considering and takeing tryall of the convocation and ryse and manner therof That he might know how the ryot Batterie and blood happened and who was guilty and who Innocent Which by seperating the matter of the convocation from the ryot Batterie and blood he could never Justlie doe And yet the said sherriff deput proceeded farder to put Sir Robert and the rest of the defenders under arreist untill they should find caution To Compear befoir the Councill and answer for the Convocation in the mean tyme he intends to proceed in the rest of the proces And thus tertio he sustaines the lybell at his procurator fiscalls instance againest Sir Robert and all the rest of the defenders for a pretended ryot Batterie and blood albeit they were the only Innocent and suffering persons and though that Sir Robert and the rest of the defenders had declyned and were absent yet he assignes them a new day and without farder prooff But holding them as confest though still without any summonds pro Confesso He fynes them as for blood in Fiftie pound the man which amounts to the soume of Five thousand merks ane unheared of oppression For albeit he could have proceeded Laufullie yet since they had declyned and were absent he could only have unlaued them in Ten pound for three absence Secundo The ryot was not duely cognosied nor any probation by witneses though there was no penurie taken therin But all the defenders though absent held as confest and that without any summonds pro confesso and in a matter so purely criminall all which is conterary to the common rules of Justice Nor Quarto Did the sherriff deput regaird that Sir Robert as a Justice of pace had warrantablie made the Church doors patent and that haveing acted in that capacity he was only comptable to the privie Councill and not subject to the sherriff deputs cognition Quinto The Sherriff Deput did also act most unjustly and unwarrantablie in alloweing citations againest the pairtes upon fewer then fyfteen dayes and in amatter purely Criminall But so litle was this regairded that though it was the winter season and many of the defenders at a distance and some of them haveing a large ferrie interjected yet they were summonded to Compear at Fortross where the Court was held upon Fourtie eight hours warning and some of them upon tuenty four hours and that under the certefication of being denounced Fugitives as guilty of ane unlaufull Convocation and ryot By all which it is evident that the said sherriff deputs procedure was most unjust and illegall and plainly tending to oppress the innocent and incurradge Rablers disturbers and prophaners of the Lords day to the manyfest prejudice boeth of Church and state off which the said sherriff deput and George Grahame his fiscall and Heugh Baillie his Clerk Being all guilty airt and pairt They ought not only to Compear Bringing with them the forsaid proces grounds and warrands with all the records relative therto But the same being proven they ought to be Decerned in the soume of Three Hundereth pounds sterling of Damnages to the forsaid Sir Robert Monro and the other Deffenders oppressed as said is and also punished by Deprivation and being declaired uncapable in tyme comeing and farder in ther persones and goods As the Lords of Her Majesties privie Councill shall see cause to the example and terror of others to committ the lyke in tyme Comeing And anent The Chairge given to the saids defenders To have Compeired befoir the Lords of Her Majesties privie Councill upon the day and date of thir presents To have answered to the forsaid Complaint And to have heard and seen such order and course taken theranent as appertaines As the Lords of privie Councill shall think fitt under the pain of Rebellion and putting of them to the horne with Certefication As in the Lyble or Letters of Complaint and Executiones therof at more length is Contained Which Lyble being upon the day and date of thir presents Called And the said persewar Compearing with Sir James Stewart Her Majesties Advocat And Sir David Dalrumple⁴ Her Majesties Solicitor his Advocats And the haill defenders Compearing also personallie at the barr with Sir David Cunynghame Sir James McKinzie and Mr Alexander Mcleod ther Advocats And the Lyble with answers therto being read And boeth pairtes and there Lauiers fully heard at the barr and remov’d The Councill delayes the advyseing the above lybell till the proces and Lybell of Convocation againest Mcraes be Called and Discust And in the mean tyme allowes the haill Deffeenders to returne to their respective homes and not to attend the Councill till they be of new advertised And Commands and Ordaines The said Sherriff Deput and Magistrats of Dingwall to make the Kirk doors open from tyme to tyme And to give all due encurragement concurrance and assistance to the presbitrie of Ross or the Ministers to be appointed by them In supplieing the vaccance of the Church of Dinguall And in declairing the same vaccant and planting the same Conforme to Law and in preserving and protecting the Ministers in the paceable dischairge of their duety theranent from tyme to tyme As they will be answerable on their highest perrill.