This
Act received the Royal Assent on August 12, 1746. Its
administration was entrusted to Lieut-General Humphry
Bland, Commander of the Forces in North Britain. His
execution of this duty is the subject of an
interesting paper by Mr A. I-I. Millar in the
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland,
March 9, 1896. In 1747 the Heritable Jurisdictions Act
was passed, which broke up the feudal power of the
great landowners. Some amazing instances of feudal
tyranny in the Highlands in the first half of the
eighteenth century are noted in Captain Burt’s Letters
from the North of Scotland, vol. ii., p. 246 et seq.
(Ed. 1876.)
An Act
for the more effectual disarming the Highlands in
Scotland
and for more effectually
securing the Peace of the said Highlands; and for
restraining the Use of the Highland Dress, and for
further indemnifying such Persons as have ac/ed in
defence of his Majesty’s Person and Government, during
the unnatural Rebellion; and for indemnifying the
Judges and other Officers of the Court of Justiciary
in Scotland, for not
performing the Northern Circuit in May,
One thousand seven hundred and forty
six; and for obliging the Masters and Teachers of
Private Schools in Scotland,
and
Chaplains, Tutors and Governors of Children or Youth,
to take the Oaths to His Majesty, His Heirs, or
Successors, and to register the same.
WHEREAS
by an Act made in the First Year of the Reign of His
late Majesty King George the First, of Glorious
Memory, intituled, An Act for the more effectual
securing the Peace of the Highlands in Scotland,
it was enacted, That from and after the First Day of
November, which was in the Year of our Lord One
thousand seven hundred and sixteen, it should not be
lawful for any Person or Persons (except such Persons
as are therein mentioned and described) within the
Shire of Dunbartain, on the North Side of the
Water of Leven, Stirling on the North Side of
the River of Forth, Perth, Kincardin, Aberdeen,
Inverness, Nairn, Cromarty, Argyle, Forfar, Bamff,
Sutherland, Caithness, Elgine, and Ross, to
have in his or their Custody, Use, or Bear, Broad
Sword or Target, Poignard, Whinger, or Durk, Side
Pistol, Gun, or other warlike Weapon, otherwise than
in the said Act was directed, under certain Penalties
appointed by the said Act; which Act having by
Experience been found not sufficient to attain the
Ends therein proposed, was further enforced by an Act
made in the Eleventh Year of the Reign of his late
Majesty, intituled, An Act for more effectual
disarming the Highlands in that Part of Great
Britain called Scotland; and for the better
securing the Peace and Quiet of that Part of the
Kingdom: And whereas the said Act of the Eleventh
Year of His late Majesty being, so far as it related
to the disarming the Highlands, to continue in Force
only during the Term of Seven Years, and from thence
to the End of the next Session of Parliament, is now
expired: And whereas many Persons within the said
Bounds and Shires still continue possessed of great
Quantities of Arms, and there, with a great Number of
such Persons, have lately raised and carried on a most
audacious and wicked Rebellion against His Majesty, in
favour of a Popish Pretender, and in Prosecution
thereof did, in a traiterous and hostile Manner, march
into the Southern Parts of this Kingdom, took
Possession of Several Towns, raised Contributions upon
the Country, and committed many other Disorders, to
the Terror and great Loss of His Majesty’s faithful
Subjects, until, by the Blessing of God on His
Majesty’s Arms, they were subdued Now, for preventing
Rebellion, and traiterous Attempts in Time to come,
and the other Mischiefs arising from the Possession or
Use of Arms, by lawless, wicked, and disaffected
Persons inhabiting within the said several Shires and
Bounds; be it enacted by the King’s most Excellent
Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the
Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this
present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of
the same, That from and after the First Day of
August, One thousand seven hundred and forty six,
it shall be lawful for the respective Lords
Lieutenants of the several Shires above recited, and
for such other Person or Persons as His Majesty, His
Heirs, or Successors shall, by His or Their Sign
Manual, from time to time, think fit, to authorise and
appoint in that Behalf, to issue or cause to be issued
out, Letters of Summons in His Majesty’s Name, and
under his or their respective Hands and Seals,
directed to such Persons within the said several
Shires and Bounds, as he or they, from time to time,
shall think fit, thereby commanding and requiring all
and every Person and Persons therein named, or
inhabiting within the particular Limits therein
described, to bring in and deliver up, at a certain
Day, in such Summons to be prefixed, and at a certain
Place therein to be mentioned, all and singular his
and their Arms and warlike Weapons, unto such Lord
Lieutenant, or other Person or Persons appointed by
His Majesty, His Heirs, or Successors, in that Behalf,
as aforesaid, for the Use of His Majesty, His Heirs,
or Successors, and to be disposed of in such Manner as
His Majesty, His Heirs, or Successors shall appoint ;
and if any Person or Persons, in such Summons
mentioned by Name, or inhabiting within the Limits
therein described, shall, by the Oaths of One or more
credible Witness or Witnesses, be convicted of having
or bearing any Arms, or warlike Weapons, after the Day
prefixed in such Summons, before any One or more of
His Majesty’s Justices of the Peace for the Shire or
Stewartry where such Offender or Offenders shall
reside, or be apprehended, or before the Judge
Ordinary, or such other Person or Persons as His
Majesty, His Heirs, or Successors shall appoint, in
Manner herein after directed, every such Person or
Persons so convicted shall forfeit the Sum of Fifteen
Pounds Sterling, and shall be committed to Prison
until payment of the said Sum; and if any Person or
Persons, convicted as aforesaid, shall refuse or
neglect to make Payment of the foresaid Sum of Fifteen
Pounds Sterling, within the Space of One Calendar
Month from the Date of such Conviction, it shall and
may be lawful to any one or more of His Majesty’s
Justices of the Peace, or to the Judge Ordinary of the
Place where such Offender or Offenders is or are
imprisoned, in case he or they shall judge such
Offender or Offenders fit to serve His Majesty as a
Soldier or Soldiers, to cause him or them to be
delivered over (as they are hereby impowered and
required to do) to such Officer or Officers belonging
to the Forces, of His Majesty, His Heirs, or
Successors, who shall be appointed from time to time
to receive such Men, to serve as Soldiers in any of
his Majesty’s Forces in America ; for which
Purpose the respective Officers, who shall receive
such Men, shall then cause the Articles of War against
Mutiny and Desertion to be read to him or them in the
Presence of such Justices of the Peace, or Judge
Ordinary, who shall so deliver over such Men, who
shall cause an Entry or Memorial thereof to be made,
together with the Names of the Persons so delivered
over, with a Certificate thereof in Writing, under his
or their Hands, to be delivered to the Officers
appointed to receive such Men; and from and after
reading of the said Articles of War, every Person so
delivered over to such Officer, to serve as a Soldier
as aforesaid, shall be deemed a listed Soldier to all
Intents and Purposes, and shall be subject to the
Discipline of War ; and in case of Desertion, shall be
punished as a Deserter; and in case such Offender or
Offenders shall not be judged fit to serve his Majesty
as aforesaid, then he or they shall be imprisoned for
the space of Six Calendar Months, and also until he or
they shall give sufficient Security for his or their
good Behaviour for the Space of Two Years from the
giving thereof.
II. And be it further enacted by
the Authority aforesaid, That all Persons summoned to
deliver up their Arms as aforesaid, who shall, from
and after the Time in such Summons prefixed, hide or
conceal any Arms, or other warlike Weapons, in any
Dwelling-house, Barn, Out-house, Office, or any other
House, or in the Fields, or any other Place whatsoever
; and all Persons who shall be accessary or privy to
the hiding or concealing of such Arms, and shall be
thereof convicted by the Oaths of One or more credible
Witness or Witnesses, before any One or more of His
Majesty’s Justices of the Peace, Judge Ordinary, or
other Person or Persons authorized by His Majesty in
Manner above mentioned shall be liable to be fined by
the said Justices of the Peace, Judge Ordinary, or
other Person authorised by His Majesty, before whom he
or they shall be convicted according to their
Discretion, in any Sum not exceeding One hundred
Pounds Sterling, nor under the Sum of fifteen Pounds
Sterling, of lawful Money of Great Britain, and
shall be committed to Prison until Payment; and if the
Person so convicted, being a Man, shall refuse or
neglect to pay the Fine so imposed, within the Space
of One Calendar Month from the Date of the said
Conviction, he shall, in case he be judged by any One
or more Justice or Justices of the Peace, or the Judge
Ordinary of the Place where such Offender is
imprisoned, fit to serve His Majesty as a Soldier, be
delivered over to serve as a Soldier in His Majesty’s
Forces in America, in the Manner before
directed, with respect to Persons convicted of having
or bearing of Arms; and in case such Offender shall
not be judged fit to serve His Majesty as aforesaid,
then he shall be imprisoned for the ~Space of Six
Calendar Months, and also until he shall give
sufficient Security for his good Behaviour, for the
Space of Two Years from the giving thereof;• and if
the Person convicted shall be a Woman, she shall, over
and above the foresaid Fine, and Imprisonment till
payment, suffer Imprisonment for the Space of Six
Calendar Months, within the To/boot/i of the
Head Burgh of the Shire or Stewartry within which she
is convicted.
III. And be it further enacted by
the Authority aforesaid, That if, after the Day
appointed by any Summons for the delivering up of Arms
in pursuance of this Act, any Arms or warlike Weapons,
shall be found hidden or concealed in any
Dwelling-house, Barn, Out-house, Office, or any other
House whatsoever, being the Residence or Habitation of
or belonging to any of the Persons summoned to deliver
up Arms as aforesaid, the Tenant or Possessor of such
I )welling-house, or. of the Dwelling-house to which
such Barn, Office, or Out-house belongs, being thereof
convicted in Manner above mentioned, shall be deemed
and taken to be the Haver and Concealer of such Arms,
and being thereof convicted in Manner above mentioned,
shall suffer the Penalties hereby above enacted
against Concealers of Arms, unless such Tenant or
Possessor, in whose House, Barn, Out-house, Office, or
other House by them possessed, such Arms shall be
found concealed, do give Evidence, by his or her
making Oath, or otherwise to the Satisfaction of the
said Justices of the Peace, Judge Ordinary, or other
Person authorized by His Majesty, before whom he or
she shall be tried, that such Arms were so concealed
and hid without his or her Knowledge, Privity, or
Connivance.
IV. And be it further enacted by
the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person who shall
have been convicted of any of the above Offences, of
bearing, hiding, or concealing Arms, contrary to the
Provisions in this Act, shall thereafter presume to
commit the like Offence a second Time, that he or she
being thereof convicted before any Court of Justiciary,
or at the Circuit Courts, shall be liable to be
transported to any of His Majesty’s Plantations beyond
the Seas, there to remain for the Space of Seven
Years.
V. And for the more effectual
Execution of this present Act, be it further enacted
by the Authority aforesaid, That it shall be lawful to
His Majesty, His Heirs, or Successors, by His or Their
Sign Manual, from time to time, to authorize and
appoint such Persons as he or they shall think proper,
to execute all the Powers and Authorities by this Act
given to One or more Justice or Justices of the Peace,
or to the Judge Ordinary, within their respective
Jurisdictions, as to the apprehending, trying, and
convicting such Person or Persons who shall be
summoned to deliver up their Arms, in pursuance of
this Act.
VI. And to the end that every
Person or Persons named or concerned in such Summons,
may have due Notice thereof, and to prevent all
Questions concerning the Legality of such Notice, it
is hereby further enacted by the Authority aforesaid,
That such Summons, notwithstanding the Generality
thereof, be deemed sufficient, if it express the
Person or Persons that are commanded to deliver up
their Weapons, or the Parishes, or the Lands, Limits,
and Boundings of the respective Territories and
Places, whereof the Inhabitants are to be disarmed as
aforesaid; and that it shall be a sufficient and legal
Execution or Notice of the said Summons, if it is
affixed on the Door of the Parish Church or Parish
Churches of the several Parishes within which the
Lands (the Inhabitants whereof are to be disarmed) do
lie on any Sunday, between the Hours of Ten in
the Forenoon, and Two in the Afternoon, Four Days at
least before the Day prefixed for the delivering up of
the Arms, and on the Market Cross of the Head Burgh of
the Shire or Stewartry within which the said Lands
lie, Eight Days before the Day appointed for the said
Delivery of the Arms; and in case the Person or
Persons employed to affix the said Summons on the
Doors of the several Parish Churches, or any of them,
shall be interrupted, prevented, or forcibly hindered,
from affixing the said Summons on the Doors of the
said Churches, or any of them, upon Oath thereof made
before any of His Majesty’s Justices of the Peace, the
Summons affixed on the Market Cross of the said Head
Burgh of the Shire or Stewartry as aforesaid, shall be
deemed and taken to be a sufficient Notice to all the
Persons commanded thereby to deliver up their Arms,
within the true Intent and Meaning, and for the
Purposes of this Act.
VII. And to the end that there may
lie sufficient Evidence of the Execution, or Notice
given of the Summons for disarming the several Persons
and Districts, as aforesaid, be it further enacted by
the Authority aforesaid, That upon the elapsing of the
said several Days to be prefixed for the delivering up
Arms, the Person or Persons employed to fix the
Summons, as above mentioned, on the Market Cross of
the Head Burghs of any Shire or Stewartry, shall,
before any One of His Majesty’s Justices of the Peace,
for the said Shire or Stewartry, make Oath, that he or
they did truly execute and give Notice of the same by
affixing it as aforesaid; and the Person or Persons
employed to affix the said Summons on the Doors of the
Parish Church or Parish Churches, shall make Oath in
the same Manner, and to the same Effect, or otherwise
shall swear that he or they were interrupted,
prevented, or forcibly hindered from affixing the said
Summons as aforesaid; which Oaths, together with
Copies or Duplicates of the Summons, to which they
severally relate, shall be delivered to the Sheriff or
Steward Clerk of the several Shires or Stewartries,
within which the Persons intended to be disarmed do
live or reside, who shall enter the same in Books,
which he and they is and are hereby required to keep
for that Purpose; and the said Books in which the
Entries are so made, or Extracts out of the same,
under the Hand of the Sheriff or Steward Clerk, shall
be deemed and taken to be full and complete Evidence
of the Execution of the Summons, in order to the
Conviction of the Persons who shall neglect or refuse
to comply with the same.
VIII. And be it
further enacted by the Authority aforesaid,
That if any such Sheriff or Steward Clerk neglect or
refuse to make such Entry as is above mentioned, or
shall refuse to exhibit the Books containing such
Entries, or to give Extracts of the same, being
thereto required by any Person or Persons who shall
carry on any Prosecutions, in pursuance of this Act,
the Clerk so neglecting or refusing shall forfeit his
Office, and shall likewise be fined in the Sum of’
Fifty Pounds Sterling; to be recovered upon a summary
Complaint before the Court of Session, for the Use of
His Majesty, His Heirs, or Successors.
IX. And be it
further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That
it shall and may be lawful to
and for the Lord Lieutenant of any of the Shires
aforesaid, or the Person or Persons authorized by His
Majesty, His Heirs, or Successors, as aforesaid, to
summon the Person or Persons aforesaid to deliver up
his or their Arms, in manner above mentioned, or to
and for any One Justice of the Peace of the respective
Shires above mentioned, or to the Judge Ordinary
within their respective Jurisdictions, or to such
Person or Persons as shall be authorized by His
Majesty, His Heirs, or Successors, for trying Offences
against this Act, to authorize and appoint such Person
or Persons as they shall think fit, to
apprehend all such Person or Persons as may be found
within the Limits foresaid, having or wearing any
Arms, or warlike Weapons, contrary to Law, and
forthwith to carry him or them to some sure Prison, in
order to their being proceeded against according to
Law.
X. And be it further enacted by the
Authority aforesaid, That it shall and may be lawful
to and for His Majesty, His Heirs, and Successors, by
Warrant under His or Their Royal Sign Manual, and also
to and for the Lord Lieutenant of any of the Shires
aforesaid, or the Person or Persons authorized by His
Majesty, to summon the Person or Persons aforesaid to
deliver up their Arms, or any One or more Justices of
the Peace, by Warrant under his or their Hands, to
authorize and appoint any Person or Persons to enter
into any House or Houses, within the Limits aforesaid,
either by Day or by Night, and there to search for and
to seize all such Arms as shall be found contrary to
the Direction of this Act.
XI. Provided, That if the above
mentioned Search shall be made in the Night-Time, that
is to say, between Sun setting and Sun rising, it
shall be made in the Presence of a Constable, or of
some Person particularly to be named for that Purpose
in the Warrant for such Search; and if any Persons, to
the Number of Five or more, shall at any time assemble
together to obstruct the Execution of any Part of this
Act, it shall and may be lawful to and for every Lord
Lieutenant. Deputy Lieutenant, or Justice of the Peace
where such Assembly shall be; and also to and for
every Peace Officer within any such Shire, Stewartry,
City, Burgh, or Place where such Assembly shall be;
and likewise to and for all and every such other
Person or Persons, as by His Majesty, His Heirs, or
Successors, shall be authorized and appointed in that
Behalf as aforesaid, to require the Aid and Assistance
of the forces of His Majesty, His Heirs, or
Successors, by applying to the Officer commanding the
said Forces (who is hereby authorized, impowered, and
commanded to give such Aid and Assistance accordingly)
to suppress such unlawful Assembly, in order to the
putting this Act in due Execution; and also to seize,
apprehend, and disarm, and they are hereby required to
seize, apprehend, and disarm such Persons so assembled
together, and forthwith to carry the Persons so
apprehended before One or more of His Majesty’s
Justices of the Peace of the Shire or Place where such
Persons shall be so apprehended, in order to their
being proceeded against, for such their Offences,
according to Law; and if the persons so unlawfully
assembled, or any of them, or any other Person or
Persons summoned to deliver up his or their Arms in
pursuance of this Act, shall happen to be killed,
maimed or wounded in the dispersing, seizing, and
apprehending, or in the endeavouring to disperse,
seize, or apprehend, by reason of their resisting the
Persons endeavouring to disperse, seize, and apprehend
them; then all and every such Lord Lieutenant, Deputy
Lieutenant, Justice or Justices of the Peace, or any
Peace Officer or Officers, and all and every Person or
Persons, authorized and appointed by His Majesty, His
Heirs, or Successors, in that Behalf, as aforesaid,
and all Persons aiding and assisting to him, them, or
any of them, shall be freed, discharged, and
indemnified, as well against the King’s Majesty, His
Heirs, and Successors, as against all and every other
person and persons of, for, or concerning the killing,
maiming, or wounding any such Person or Persons so
unlawfully assembled, that shall be so killed, maimed,
or wounded as aforesaid.
XII. And be it further enacted by
the Authority aforesaid, That if any Action, Civil or
Criminal, shall be brought before any Court
whatsoever, against any Person or Persons for what he
or they shall lawfully do in pursuance or Execution of
this Act, such Court shall allow the Defendant the
Benefit of the Discharge and Indemnity above provided,
and shall further decern the Pursuer to pay to the
Defender the full and real Expences that he shall be
put to by such Action or Prosecution.
XIII. Provided nevertheless, and be
it enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That no Peers
of this Realm, nor their Sons, nor any Members of
Parliament, nor any Person or Persons, who, by the Act
above recited of the First Year of His late Majesty,
were allowed to have or carry Arms, shall by virtue of
this Act be liable to be summoned to deliver up their
Arms, or warlike Weapons ; nor shall this Act, or the
above recited Act, be construed to extend to exclude
or hinder any Person, whom his Majesty, His Heirs, or
Successors, by Licence under His or Their Sign Manual,
shall permit to wear Arms, or who shall be licenced to
wear Arms, by any Writing or Writings under the Hand
and Seal, or Hands and Seals of any Person or Persons
authorized by His Majesty, His Heirs, or Successors,
or give such Licence from keeping, bearing, or wearing
such Arms, and warlike Weapons, as in such Licence or
Licences shall for that Purpose be particularly
specified.
XIV. And to the end that no Persons
may be discouraged from delivering up their Arms, from
the Apprehension of the Penalties and Forfeitures
which they may have incurred, through their neglecting
to comply with the Directions of the said Act of the
First Year of His late Majesty’s Reign, be it further
enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That from and
after the Time of affixing any such Summons as
aforesaid, no Person or Persons residing within the
Bounds therein mentioned, shall be sued or prosecuted
for his or their having, or having had, bearing, or
having borne Arms, at any Time before the several Days
to be prefixed or limited by Summons as aforesaid, for
the respective Persons and Districts to deliver up
their Arms ; but if any
Person or Persons shall refuse or neglect to deliver
up their Arms in Obedience to such Summons as
aforesaid, or shall afterwards be found in Arms, he
and they shall be liable to the Penalties and
Forfeitures of the Statute above recited, as well as
to the Penalties of this present Act.
XV. And be it further enacted by
the Authority aforesaid, That One Moiety of the
Penalties imposed by this Act with respect to which no
other Provision is made, shall be to the Informer or
Informers; and the Other Moiety shall be at the
Disposal of the Justices of the Peace, Judge Ordinary,
or other Person authorized by His Majesty as
aforesaid, before whom such Conviction shall happen,
provided the same be applied towards the Expence
incurred in the Execution of this Act.
XVI. And be it further enacted by
the Authority aforesaid, That the above Provisions in
this Act shall continue in Force for Seven Years, and
from thence to the End of the next Session of
Parliament, and no longer.
XVII. And be it further enacted by
the Authority aforesaid, ‘I’hat from and after the
First Day of August, One
thousand seven hundred and forty seven, no Man or Boy,
within that part of Great Britain called
Scotland, other than such as shall be employed as
Officers and Soldiers in His Majesty’s Forces, shall,
on any Pretence whatsoever, wear or put on the Clothes
commonly called Highland Clothes (that is to
say) the Plaid, Philebeg, or little Kilt, Trowse,
Shoulder Belts, or any Part whatsoever of what
peculiarly belongs to the Highland Garb; and that no
Tartan, or party-coloured Plaid or Stuff shall be used
for Great Coats, or for Upper Coats; and if any such
Person shall presume after the said First Day of
August, to wear or put on
the aforesaid Garments, or any Part of them, every
such Person so offending, being convicted thereof by
the Oath of One or more credible Witness or Witnesses
before any Court of Justiciary, or any One or more
Justices of the Peace for the Shire or Stewartry, or
Judge Ordinary of the Place where such Offence shall
be committed, shall suffer Imprisonment, without Bail,
during the Space of Six Months, and no longer; and
being convicted for a second Offence before a Court of
Justiciary, or at the Circuits, shall be liable to be
transported to any of His Majesty’s Plantations beyond
the Seas, there to remain for the Space of Seven
Years.
XVIII. And whereas by an Act made
in this Session of Parliament, intituled, An Act to
indemnify such Persons as have acted in Defence of His
Majesty’s Person and Government, and for the
Preservation of the publick Peace of this Kingdom
during the Time of the present unnatural Rebellion,
and Sheriffs and others who have suffered Escapes,
occasioned thereby, from vexatious Suits and
Prosecutions, it is enacted, That all personal
Actions and Suits, Indictments, Informations, and all
Molestations, Prosecutions, and Proceedings
whatsoever, and Judgments thereupon, if any be, for or
by reason of any Matter or Thing advised, commanded,
appointed, or done during the Rebellion, until the
Thirtieth Day of April, in the Year of our Lord
One thousand seven hundred and forty six, in order to
suppress the said unnatural Rebellion, or for the
Preservation of the publick Peace, or for the Service
of Safety to the Government, shall be discharged and
made void: And whereas it is also reasonable, that
Acts done for the publick Service, since the said
Thirtieth Day of April, though not justifiable
by the strict Forms of Law, should be justified by Act
of Parliament; be it enacted by
the Authority aforesaid, That all personal Actions and
Suits, Indictments and Informations, which have been
or shall be commenced or prosecuted, and all
Molestations, Prosecutions, and Proceedings
whatsoever, and Judgments thereupon, if any be, for or
by reason of any Act, Matter, or Thing advised,
commanded, appointed, or done before the Twenty fifth
Day of July, in the Year of our Lord One
thousand seven hundred and forty six, in order to
suppress the said unnatural Rebellion, or for the
Preservation of the publick Peace, or for the Safety
or Service of the Government, shall be discharged and
made void; and that every Person, by whom any such
Act, Matter, of Thing shall have been so advised,
commanded, appointed, or done for the Purposes
aforesaid, or any of them, before the said Five and
twentieth Day of July, shall be freed,
acquitted, and indemnified, as well against the King’s
Majesty, His Heirs, and Successors, as against all and
every other Person and Persons ;
and that if any Action or Suit hath been Or shall be
commenced or prosecuted, within that Part of Great
Britain called England, against any Person
for any such Act, Matter, or Thing so advised,
commanded, appointed, or done for the Purposes
aforesaid, or any of them, before the said Twenty
fifth Day of July, he or she may plead the
General Issue, and give this Act and the special
Matter in Evidence; and if the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs
shall become nonsuit, or forbear further Prosecution,
or suffer Discontinuance ; or if
a Verdict pass against such Plaintiff or Plaintiffs,
the Defendant or 1)efendants shall recover his, her,
or their Double Costs, for which he, she, or they
shall have the like Remedy, as in Cases where Costs by
Law are given to Defendants; and if such Action or
Suit hath been or shall be commenced or prosecuted in
that Part of Great Britain called Scotland,
the Court, before whom such Action or Suit hath been
or shall be commenced or prosecuted, shall allow to
the Defender the Benefit of the Discharge and
Indemnity above provided, and shall further decern the
Pursuer to pay to the Defender the full and real
Expences that he or she shall be put to by such Action
or Suit.
XIX. And whereas by an Act passed
in the Sixth Year of Her late Majesty Queen Anne,
intituled, An Act for rendering the Union of
the Two Kingdoms more entire and complete; it is,
among other Things, enacted, That Circuit Courts shall
be holden in that Part of the United Kingdom called
Scotland, in Manner, and at the Places mentioned
in the said Act: And whereas by the late unnatural
Rebellion, the Course of Justice in Scotland
has been so interrupted, as rendered it impracticable
to give up and transmit Presentments, in such due Time
as Prosecutions might thereupon commence, before the
Northern Circuit, to be holden in May this
present Year, whereby there appeared a Necessity of
superseding the said Circuit; be it therefore enacted
by the Authority aforesaid, That the Judges of the
Court of Justiciary, and all and every other Person
and Persons therein concerned, are hereby indemnified
for their not performing the said Circuit, as by the
forecited Act they were obliged to do; any thing in
the same Act, or in any other Law or Statute to the
contrary notwithstanding.
XX. And whereas a Doubt hath arisen
with respect to the Shire of Dunbartain, what
Part thereof was intended to be disarmed by the First
recited Act made in the First Year of His late Majesty
King George, and intended to be carried into
further ‘Execution by the present Act; be it enacted
by the Authority aforesaid, That such Parts of the
said Shire of Dunbartain as ly upon the East,
West, and North Sides of Lochlomond, to the
Northward of that Point where the Water of Leven
runs from Lochlomond, are and were intended
to be disarmed by the aforesaid Act and are
comprehended and subject to the Directions of this
Act.
XXI. And whereas it is of great
Importance to prevent the rising Generation being
educated in disaffected or rebellious Principles, and
although sufficient Provision is already made by Law
for the due Regulation of the Teachers in the Four
Universities, and in the publick Schools authorized by
Law in the Royal Burghs and Country Parishes in
Scotland, it is further necessary, That all
Persons who take upon them to officiate as Masters or
Teachers in Private Schools, in that Part of Great
Britain called Scotland, should give
Evidence of their good Affection to His Majesty’s
Person and Government; be it
therefore enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That
from and after the First Day of November, in
the Year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and
forty six, it shall not be lawful for any Person in
Scotland to keep a Private School for Teaching
English, Latin, Greek, or any Pan of Literature,
or to officiate as a Master or Teacher in such School,
or any School for Literature, other than those in the
Universities, or Established in the respective Royal
Burghs by Publick Authority, or the Parochial Schools
settled according to Law, or the Schools maintained by
the Society in Scotland for propagating
Christian Knowledge, or by the General Assemblies of
the Church of Scotland, or Committees thereof,
upon the Bounty granted by His Majesty, until the
Situation and Description of such Private Schools be
first entered and registered in a Book, which shall be
provided and kept for that Purpose by the Clerks of
the several Shires, Stewartries, and Burghs in
Scotland, together with a Certificate from the
proper Officer, of every such Master and Teacher
having qualified himself, by taking the Oaths
appointed by Law to be taken by Persons in Offices of
publick Trust in Scotland; and every such
Master and Teacher of a Private School shall be
obliged, and is hereby required, as often as Prayers
shall be said in such School, to pray, or cause to be
prayed for, in express words, His Majesty, His Heirs,
and Successors, by Name, and for all the Royal Family;
and if any Person shall, from and after the said First
Day of November, presume to enter upon, or
exercise the Function or Office of a Master or Teacher
of any such Private School as shall not have been
registered in Manner herein directed, or without
having first qualified himself, and caused the
Certificate to be registered as above mentioned; or in
case he shall neglect to pray for His Majesty by Name,
and all the Royal Family, or to cause them to be
prayed for as herein directed; or in case he shall
resort to, or attend Divine Worship in any Episcopal
Meeting-house not allowed by the Law, every Person so
offending in any of the Premisses, being thereof
lawfully convicted before any Two or more of the
Justices of the Peace, or before any other Judge
competent of the Place summarily, shall, for the first
Offence, suffer Imprisonment for the Space of Six
Months; and for the Second, or any subsequent Offence,
being thereof lawfully convicted before the Court of
Justiciary, or in any of the Circuit Courts, shall be
adjudged to be transported, and accordingly shall be
transported to some of his Majesty’s Plantations in
America for Life; and in case any Person adjudged
to be so transported shall return into, or be found in
Great Britain, ‘then every such Person shall
suffer Imprisonment for Life.
XXII. And be it further enacted by
the Authority aforesaid, That if any Parent or
Guardian shall put a Child or Children under his care
to any Private School that shall not be registered
according to the Directions of this Act, or whereof
the principal Master or Teacher shall not have
registered the Certificate of his having qualified
himself as herein directed, every such Parent or
Guardian so offending, and being thereof lawfully
convicted before any Two or more Justices of Peace, or
before any other Judge competent of the Place
summarily, shall, for the First Offence be liable to
suffer Imprisonment by the Space of Three Months; and
for the Second, or any subsequent Offence, being
thereof lawfully convicted before the Court of
Justiciary, or in any of the Circuit Courts, shall
suffer Imprisonment for the Space of Two Years from
the Date of such Conviction.
XXIII. And whereas by an Act passed
in the Parliament of Scotland, in the Year of
our Lord One thousand six hundred and ninety three,
all Chaplains in Families, and Governours and Teachers
of Children and Youth, were obliged to take the Oaths
of Allegiance and Assurance therein directed; and
there may be some Doubt, whether by the Laws, as they
stand at present, they are obliged to take the Oaths
appointed to be taken by Persons in Offices of publick
Trust in Scotland: Therefore be it enacted by
the Authority aforesaid, That from and after the First
Day of November, in the Year of our Lord One
thousand seven hundred and forty six, no Person shall
exercise the Employment, Function, or Service of a
Chaplain, in any Family in that Part of Great
Britain. called Scotland, or of a Governor,
Tutor, or Teacher of any Child, Children, or Youth,
residing in Scotland, or in Parts beyond the
Seas, without first qualifying himself, by taking the
Oaths, appointed by Law to be taken by Persons in
Offices of publick Trust, and causing a Certificate of
his having done so to be entered or registered in a
Book to be kept for that Purpose by the Clerks of the
Shires, Stewartries, or Burghs in Scotland,
where such Persons shall reside; or in case of any
such Governor, Tutor, or Teacher of any such Child,
Children, or Youth, acting in Parts beyond the Seas,
then in a Book to be kept for that Purpose by the
Clerk of the Shire, Stewartry, or Burgh where the
Parent or Guardian of such Child, Children, or Youth
shall reside. And if any Person, from and after the
said First Day of November, shall presume to
exercise the Employment, Function, or Service of
Chaplain, in any Family in Scotland, or of a
Governor or Teacher of Children or Youth, as
aforesaid, without having taken the said Oaths, and
caused the Certificate of his having duly taken the
same, to be registered, as is above directed; every
Person so offending, being thereof lawfully convicted
before any Two or more Justices of Peace, or before
any other Judge Competent of the Place summarily,
shall for the First Offence, suffer Imprisonment by
the Space of Six Months; and for the Second, or any
subsequent Offence, being thereof lawfully convicted
before the Court of Justiciary, or in any of the
Circuit Courts, shall be adjudged to be banished from
Great Britain for the Space of Seven Years.
XXIV. Provided always, That it
shall be lawful for every Chaplain, Schoolmaster,
Governour, Tutor, or Teacher of Youth who is of the
Communion of the Church of Scotland, instead of the
Oath of Abjuration appointed by Law to be taken by
Persons in Offices Civil or Military, to take the Oath
directed to be taken by Preachers and Expectants in
Divinity of the established Church of Scotland,
by an Act passed in the Fifth Year of the Reign of
King George, the First, intituled, An Act
for making more effectual the Laws appointing the
Oaths for Security of the Government to be taken by
Ministers and Preachers in Churches and Meeting-houses
in Scotland; and a Certificate of his having taken
that Oath shall, to all Intents and Purposes, be as
valid and effectual as the Certificate of his having
taken the Oath of Abjuration above mentioned; and he
shall be as much deemed to have qualified himself
according to Law, as if he had taken the Abjuration
appointed to be taken by Persons in Civil Offices.
XXV. And be it further enacted,
That from and after the said First Day of November,
no Person within Scotland shall keep or
entertain any Person or Chaplain in any Family, or as
Governor, Tutor, or Teacher of any Child, Children, or
Youth, unless the certificate of such Person’s having
taken the Oaths to His Majesty be duly registered in
Manner above directed; and if any Person shall keep or
entertain a Chaplain in his Family, or a Governor,
Tutor, or Teacher of any Child, Children, or Youth
under his Care, without the Certificate of such
Chaplain, Governor, Tutor, or Teacher’s having
respectively qualified himself, by taking the Oaths to
His Majesty, being duly registered in Manner above
mentioned, every such Person so offending, being
thereof lawfully convicted before any Two or more of
His Majesty’s Justices of Peace, or before any other
Judge competent, shall, for the First Offence, suffer
Imprisonment by the Space of Six Months; and for the
Second, or any subsequent Offence, being thereof
lawfully convicted before the Court of Justiciary, or
in any of the Circuit Courts in Scotland, shall
suffer Imprisonment by the Space of Two Years.
XXVI. And for the better preventing
any Private Schools from being held or maintained, or
any Chaplain in any Family, or any Governor, Tutor, or
Teacher of any Children or Youth, from being employed
or entertained contrary to the Directions of this Act,
be it further enacted, That the Sheriffs of Shires,
and Stewarts of Stewartries, and Magistrates of Burghs
in Scotland, shall be obliged, and are hereby
required, from time to time, to make diligent Enquiry
within their respective Jurisdictions, concerning any
Offences that shall be committed against this Act, and
cause the same, being the First Offence, to be
prosecuted before themselves; and in case of a Second,
or subsequent Offence, to give Notice thereof, and of
the Evidence for proving the same, to his Majesty’s
Advocate for the Time being, who is hereby required to
prosecute such Second or subsequent Offences before
the Court of Justiciary, or at the Circuit Courts. |