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<DATE>2008-04-05</DATE>
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<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B080310.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="B05605">
<STC T="W">S1791</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">53299282</BIBNO>
<VID>180014</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="royal proclamation">
<PB REF="1" MS="y"><!-- PDF PAGE 8 -->
<HEAD><FIGURE>
<P>DIEV ET MON DROIT</P>
<P>HONI SOIT QVI MAL Y PENSE</P>
<FIGDESC>royal blazon or coat of arms</FIGDESC>
</FIGURE></HEAD>
<HEAD>PROCLAMATION, <HI>For a Solemn Fast and Humiliation&punc;</HI></HEAD>
<OPENER><SIGNED><HI>_WILLIAM</HI> By the Grace of GOD, King of <HI>Great Britain France</HI> and <HI>Ireland,</HI> Defender of the Faith; </SIGNED>
<SALUTE>To  <GAP DESC="blank" EXTENT="1 span">  Macers of Our Privy Council, Me&s;&s;engers at Arms, Our Sheriffs in that part, conjunctly and &s;everally &s;pecially con|&s;titute Greeting.</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>Forasmuch, as, by Rea&s;on of many abounding heinous Sins and Provocations; The Di&s;plea&s;ure and Wrath of Almighty GOD is very vi&s;ible again&s;t Us, and Our People, not only in the &s;ad Calamity, under which the Kingdom Labours, by rea&s;on of the Di&s;appointment, and failing of the Cropt and Fruits of the Ground, for the Year by pa&s;t, whereupon &s;uch Scarci|ty and Dearth did en&s;ue; That the Poor of the Land have generally been Reduced to the greate&s;t Extremity; But al&s;o, by the continuance of &s;uch bad VVeather, and &s;o unnatural a Sea&s;on, as doth &s;adly threaten the Mil-giving, and Bla&s;ting of the pre&s;ent Cropt, and Fruits of the Ground, to the Increa&s;e of that Di&s;tre&s;s, whereby the Kingdom is already Afflicted, and in hazard to be ruin|ed, (if God in his Mercy prevent not) which certainly calls for our deepe&s;t Humiliation and mo&s;t earne&s;t and fervent Supplications to our gracious God to avert it: VVhich Con&s;ideration, hath al&s;o moved the Commi&s;&s;ion of the late General A&s;&s;embly, to Adre&s;s the Lords of Our Privy Council, That a Day of Humiliation may be appointed, and keeped throughout this Kingdom; VVherefore, VVe with Advice of the Lords of Our Privy Council, appoint and Command a Day of Solemn Humiliation and Prayer to be ob&s;erved through this whole King|dom, that all may put up fervent Prayers to God, <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="damage" EXTENT="1 span"> and Forgivenne&s;s. And that he would turn away his Wrath, and <HI>keep off de&s;erved</HI> Judgement, and yet Graciou&s;ly ble&s;s <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="damage" EXTENT="1 span"> People with Sea&s;onable VVeather, for In bringing the Fruits of the Ground. And al&s;o, that above all things, he would be&s;tow on Us and them, his Spiritual and Heavenly Ble&s;&s;ings, by the con|tinuing and pro&s;pering of his Go&s;pel, and the Fruits thereof among&s;t us. And We, with Advice fore&s;aid, Require and Command the &s;aid Solemn Fa&s;t, and Day of Humiliation, to be Religiou&s;ly Ob&s;erved and Keeped, by all Ranks and Degrees of People, upon the Days following, <HI>viz.</HI> In all the Planted Churches on this &s;ide the River of <HI>Tay,</HI> upon the twenty fifth day of <HI>Augu&s;t</HI> In&s;tant, and in all the Planted Churches of the re&s;t of this Kingdom, upon the Eight Day of <HI>September</HI> next to come: And in &s;uch Churches, as are Vacant, upon &s;uch Days, as &s;hall be Appointed by the Presbytery of the Bounds. Certifying &s;uch who &s;hall Contemn or Neglect the Dutiful Ob&s;erving and Keeping of the &s;aid Day of Humiliation; They &s;hall be proceeded again&s;t, as Contemners of Our Authorty, and Neglecters of &s;uch a Nece&s;&s;ary Duty: And &s;eing, that on &s;uch an Occa&s;ion, and for &s;uch Cau&s;es. God doth more e&s;pecially re|quire the exerci&s;e of Chri&s;tian Charity and Compa&s;&s;ion towards the Poor and Indigent, who&s;e Pinching Straits and VVants, do at pre&s;ent lay them under the deepe&s;t di&s;tre&s;s and cry aloud to all for their Help and Relieff, as they expect, and would wi&s;h that God &s;hould be gracious to them in the like Ca&s;e; Therefore, VVe do further, with Advice fore&s;aid, &s;eriou&s;ly Recommend to all Our Good Subjects, to draw forth and extend their Chri&s;tian Charity, and Compa&s;&s;ion towards the Poor and Indigent, by a Cheerful, and Liberal and Boun|tiful Contribution, upon the &s;aid Day of Humiliation and Lords Day thereafter, as the be&s;t and mo&s;t acceptable Expre&s;&s;ions of their Sincerity and Earne&s;tne&s;s in the fore&s;aid Duty And VVe peremptory Require and Command, that not only the Money to be Contribute and Collected upon the Dayes fore&s;aid; But likewi&s;e, (if it &s;hall be found needfull,) that all other Money formerly Collected, and &s;till lying in Church-Boxes, or in the hands of Kirk Se&s;&s;ions, or lent out upon Intere&s;t, by Bonds taken for the Product of &s;uch Col|lections, be in&s;tantly uplifted, imployed and wared out for buying of Victual, and other nece&s;&s;ars for relief of the Poor, within the Bounds of the Paroches to which the &s;aids Collections and Bonds do belong. And that at the fight of the Mini&s;ters and Elders, with concour&s;e of &s;uch Heretors as &s;hall Joyn with them, within the &s;aids re&s;pective Paroches, by the&s;e already Intru&s;ted, or who &s;hall be Intru&s;ted by the &s;aids Mini&s;ters and Elders, and Heretors with the over &s;ight of the Poor in the &s;aids Bounds, to the Effect the &s;aid Vic|tual, and other nece&s;&s;ars, for the relief of the poor, may be Orderly, and Proportionally di&s;tribut among them, effeiring to their &s;ever|all Indigencies. And We again, Require and Command, all Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel, and others fore&s;aid, to applye them&s;elves dili|gently to the fore&s;aid pious VVork, for the Supplye and Relief of the Poor, as they will be An&s;werable to God, and Us thereanent OUR VVILL IS HEREFORE, And VVe Charge you &s;trictly, and Command, That in continent the&s;e Our Letters &s;een, ye pa&s;s to the Mercat Cro&s;s of <HI>Edinburgh,</HI> and to the remanent Mercat Cro&s;&s;es of the Head Burghs of the &s;everal Shires, and Steuarties within this Kingdom, and in Our Name and Authority, make Publication hereof, that none pretend Ignorance. An VVe Ordain Our Solicitor to di&s;patch Copies hereof, to the Sheriffs of the &s;everal Shires, and Steuarts of Steuartries, and their Deputs, or Clerks to be by them Publi&s;hed at the Mercat-Cro&s;&s;es of the Head Burghs, upon receipt thereof, and immediately &s;ent to the &s;everal Mini&s;ters to the Effect they may Read and Intimate the &s;ame, from their Pulpits upon the Lords Day immediately preceeding the Dayes above appointed, And Ordains the&s;e Pre&s;ents to be Printed, and Publi&s;hed in manner fore&s;aid.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE>Given under Our Signet at <HI>Edinburgh,</HI> <DATE>the &s;eventh day of <HI>Augu&s;t,</HI> and of Our Reign the Eighth Year, 1696.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SIGNED>Per Actum Dominorum Secreti Concilii. GIL. ELIOT Cls. Sti Concilii.</SIGNED><LB>
GOD &s;ave the KING.</CLOSER>
</DIV1>
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<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="colophon">
<P><HI>Edinburgh,</HI> Printed by the Heirs and Succe&s;&s;ors of <HI>Andrew Ander&s;on</HI> Printer to His mo&s;t Excellent Maje&s;ty, 1696</P>
</DIV1>
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