be abolished in Scotland, be it further declared and ordained by the authority aforesaid, that all heritors, proprietors and possessors of lands in Scotland, or the dominions thereunto belonging, and their heirs, shall from and after the 12th day of April, in the year of our Lord 1654, hold their respective lands of the respective lord and lords by deed, charter, patent or enfeoffment, to be renewed upon the death of every heritor, proprietor or possessor (as now they do) to his heir or heirs, by and under such yearly rents, boons and annual services as are mentioned or due by any deeds, patents, charters or enfeoffments now in being, of the respective lands therein expressed, or by virtue thereof enjoyed without rendering, doing or performing any other duty, service, vassalage or demand whatsoever, by reason or occasion of the said lands, or any the clauses or covenants in the said deeds, charters, patents or enfeoffments contained, saving what is hereafter, herein and hereby particularly expressed and declared; that is to say, heriots, where the same are due, fines (certain where the same is already certain, and where the fine is uncertain, reasonable fines) upon the death of the lord, and upon the

death or alienation of the tenant, or any of them, where the same have usually been paid, which said fine (not being already certain) shall not at any time exceed one year's value of the lands, and also doing suit and service to such Court and Courts Baron, as shall be constituted in Scotland, in such manner as is ordained by one other Ordinance, entitled, an Ordinance for erecting Courts Baron in Scotland.

And be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, that all and every the heritors, proprietors and possessors aforesaid, and their heirs, are and shall be from henceforth for ever discharged of all fealty, homage, vassalage and servitude, which is or shall be pretended due from them, or any of them, unto any their lords or superiors whatsoever, claiming dominion or jurisdiction over them, by virtue of the said patents, charters, deeds or enfeoffments, and other rights thereof, or of any clauses or conditions therein contained, other than is before declared and ordained. And that all the said superiorities, lordships and jurisdictions (other than as aforesaid) shall be, and are hereby abolished, taken off and discharged; and that all and every the said deeds, patents, charters and enfeoffments in that behalf be, and are hereby declared, and made so far void and null; and particularly,

that all and every the heritors, and others the persons aforesaid, and their heirs, are and shall be for ever hereafter freed and discharged of, and from all suits, and appearing at or in any their lords or superiors courts of justiciary, regality, stuartry, barony, bailiary, heritable sheriffship, heritable admiralty, all which, together with all other offices heritable, or for life, are hereby abolished and taken away; and that all and every the heritors and persons aforesaid, and their heirs, are and shall be for ever hereafter freed and discharged of and from all military service, and personal attendance upon any their lords or superiors in expeditions or travels, and of all casualties, of wards lands formerly held of the King, or other superiors, and of the marriage, single and double avail thereof, non-entries, compositions for entries, and of all rights and casualties payable, if they be demanded, only or upon the committing of any clauses irritant. And that the said heritors and persons aforesaid be now, and from henceforth, construed, reputed, adjudged and declared free and acquitted thereof, and of and from all and all manner of holding suits, duties, services, personal or real, and demands whatsoever (other than is before declared and ordained), notwithstanding the present tenor of any their deeds, patents, enfeoffments, or any clauses, articles or covenants therein contained or mentioned to the contrary in any wise; and that in time to come all and every clause, covenant, article, condition, or thing to the contrary hereof, shall be omitted out of all such deeds, patents, charters and enfeoffments.

And be it further ordained, that all forfeitures, escheats, simple, or of life, rent bastardy, and last heir, which heretofore escheated, forfeited and fell to the King, lords of regality, or other superiors, shall from henceforth fall, escheat, and forfeit to the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth for the time being.

Passed 12th April, 1654. Confirmed Anno 1656, Cap. 10.

89. AN ORDINANCE BY THE PROTECTOR FOR ELECTIONS IN SCOTLAND,

[June 27, 1654. Civil War Tracts, Press Mark E 1064, p. 431.]

Whereas by the Government of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, publicly declared at Westminster, the 16th day of December, 1653.

It is declared, that the distribution of the persons to be chosen for Scotland, and the several counties, cities and places within the same, shall be according to such proportions and numbers as shall be agreed upon and declared by the Lord Protector, and the major part of the Council, before the sending forth writs of summons for the next Parliament. And whereas his Highness and the major part of the Council, before the sending forth of any writs of summons aforesaid, did agree and declare the distribution of the persons to be chosen for Scotland, according to the proportions and numbers hereafter mentioned; it is therefore ordained, declared and agreed by his Highness the Lord Protector, with the consent of the Council, that the persons to be chosen for Scotland, and the several counties, cities and places within the same, shall be according to the proportions and numbers hereafter expressed: that is to say, for the shires of Orkney, Shetland and Caithness, one, and the place of meeting for the election of such person shall be at Caithness; for the shires of Sutherland, Ross and Cromarty, one, and the place of meeting for the election of such person shall be at Ross ; for the shire of Inverness, one, and the place of meeting for the election of such person shall be in the same shire; for the shires of Elgin and Nairn, one, and the place of meeting for the election of such person shall be at Elgin; for the shire of Banff, one, and the place of meeting for the election of such person shall be in the same shire; for the shire of Aberdeen, one, and the place of meeting for the election of such person shall be in the same shire; for the shires of Kincardine and Forfar, one, and the place of meeting for the election of such person shall be at Forfar; for the shires of Fife and Kinross, one, and the place of meeting for the election of such person shall be at Fife; for the shire of Perth, one, and the place of meeting for the election of such person shall be in the same shire; for the shires of Linlithgow, Stirling, and Clackmannan, one, and the place of meeting for the election of such person shall be at Stirling; for the shires of Dumbarton, Argyle, and Bute, one, and the place of meeting for the election of such person shall be at Dumbarton; for the shires of Ayr and Renfrew, one, and the place of meeting for the election of such person shall be in Ayrshire; for the shire of Lanark, one, and the place of meeting for the election of such person shall be in the same shire; for the shire of Mid-Lothian, one, and the place of meeting for the election of such person shall be in the

same shire; for the shire of the Merse, one, and the place of meeting for the election of such person shall be in the same shire; for the shire of Roxburgh, one, and the place of meeting for the election of such person shall be in the same shire; for the shires of Selkirk and Peebles, one, and the place of meeting for the election of such person shall be at Peebles; for the shire of Dumfries, one, and the place of meeting for the election of such person shall be in the same shire; for the shire of Wigton, one, and the place of meeting for the election of such person shall be in the same shire; for the shire of East-Lothian, one, and the place of meeting for the election of such person shall be in the same shire; and for the boroughs of Dornoch, Tain, Inverness, Dingwall, Nairn, Elgin, and Fortrose, one, and the place of meeting for the election of such person shall be at Inverness; for the boroughs of Banff, Cullen, and Aberdeen, one, and the place of meeting for the election of such person shall be at Aberdeen; for the boroughs of Forfar, Dundee, Arbroath, Montrose, and Brechin, one, and the place of meeting for the election of such person shall be at Dundee; for the boroughs of Linlithgow, Queensferry, Perth, Culross, and Stirling, one, and the place of meeting for the election of such person shall be at Stirling; for the boroughs of St. Andrews, Dysart, Kirkcaldy, Cupar, Anstruther East, Pittenween, Crail, Dunfermline, Kinghorn, Anstruther West, Inverkeithing, Kilrenny, and Burnt Island, one, and the place of meeting for the election of such person shall be at Cupar in Fife; for the boroughs of Edinburgh, two; for the boroughs of Lanark, Glasgow, Rutherglen, Rothesay, Renfrew, Ayr, Irvine and Dumbarton, one, and the place of meeting for the election of such person shall be at Glasgow; for the boroughs of Dumfries, Sinclair, Lochmaben, Annandale, Wigton, Kirkcudbright, Whithorn, and Galloway, one, and the place of meeting for the election of such person shall be at Dumfries; for the boroughs of Peebles, Selkirk, Jedburgh, Lauder, N. Berwick, Dunbar, and Haddington, one, and the place of meeting for the election of such person shall be at Lauder. And it is further ordained by his said Highness the Lord Protector, with the consent of the Council, that for the effectual and orderly election of the persons aforesaid to be chosen to sit and serve in Parliament, as in the said Government is declared, several writs under the Great Seal of England shall issue, and be directed to the several and respective Sheriffs of the several

and respective shires, wherein the respective elections are to be made of the respective persons to serve in Parliament for the respective shires, and to the respective Sheriffs of the county where the elections for the boroughs are hereby appointed to be made according to the distribution aforesaid; and that the respective Sheriffs to whom such writs shall be directed, are hereby authorised and impowered to make or cause proclamation to be made of such writ in all the counties, boroughs, and places respectively, for the making such election and elections, and to issue his warrant to the chief officer of the place, where such election for boroughs is to be made, notwithstanding the same be not within the shire whereof such person is Sheriff, and to cause the elections to be made accordingly; which writs the Chancellor, Keeper, or Commissioners of the Great Seal of England, for the time being, shall seal, issue and send forth.

Thursday, June, 27th, 1654.

Ordered by his Highness the Lord Protector and his Council, that this Ordinance be forthwith printed and published.

HENRY SCOBELL,

Clerk of the Council.

90. AN ORDINANCE BY THE PROTECTOR FOR ELECTIONS IN IRELAND.

[June 27, 1654. Civil War Tracts, Press Mark E 1064, p. 439.] Whereas by the Government of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, publicly declared at Westminster the 16th day of December, 1653, it is declared, that the distribution of the persons to be chosen for Ireland, and the several counties, cities and places within the same, shall be according to such proportions and number as shall be agreed upon and declared by the Lord Protector and the major part of the Council, before the sending forth writs of summons for the next Parliament. And whereas his Highness and the major part of the Council, before the sending forth of any writs of summons aforesaid, did agree and declare the distribution of the persons to be chosen for Ireland, according to the proportions and numbers hereafter mentioned; it is therefore ordained, declared and agreed by