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<ETS>
<TEMPHEAD>
<REVDESCR>
<CHANGE>
<DATE>2013-10-23</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Colm MacCrossan</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed.</ITEM>
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<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="OX" ID="B08057">
<STC T="S">21911</STC>
<STC T="C">S95089</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">[ocm]68222770</BIBNO>
<VID>183809</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="proclamation">
<PB REF="1">
<HEAD>ACT AGAINST RVN-AWAYES, Ma&s;terle&s;&s;e men, and tho&s;e who travels without te&s;timonials. At <HI>EDINB&V;RGH</HI> the twentie day of Augu&s;t 1640.</HEAD>
<P>_THE Lords, and others of the <HI>Committie</HI> of the E&s;tates of Parliament; con&s;idering the fearfull prejudice and danger likely to fall out, by the daily disbanding and &s;tealing away of a number of Fugitives, who flieth away from their Companies and Colours, and returneth to the Countrey where they lurke and are harboured, and entertained by their Parents, Ma&s;ters, and Friends: The danger and preparative whereof may produce fearfull effects, if the &s;ame bee not timeou&s;ly remeided, and &s;uch Fugi|tives and Run-awayes examplarly puni&s;hed to the terrour of others, in re&s;pect whereof; It is hereby &s;tatute, enacted, and ordained, That the <HI>Committie</HI> of warre within each Presbyterie and divi&s;ion in this whole Kingdome, with the concour&s;e of the Shyreffes, Stewarts, and Bailyies of Regalities, and of the Gentle-men, Mi|ni&s;ters, Elders, and Con&s;tables in each Paro&s;hin, who &s;hall bee oblidged to con|curre and a&s;&s;i&s;t herein-till; Shall foorth-with upon &s;ight hereof, cau&s;e make pre|&s;ent and exact &s;earch and tryall for all Fugitives and Run-awayes within their bounds and divi&s;ion, who hath either fled and disbanded from this pre&s;ent Armie, now marched into <HI>England,</HI> or from the North or South Regiments, or from any other Companie or Gari&s;on leveyed by warrand from the E&s;tates: And &s;hall cau&s;e take and apprehend all the &s;aids Fugitives where ever they can be found, and put them in &s;ure firmance and pri&s;on, either in the head Burrowes of the Shyres, or in &s;ome other firme and convenient place. And &s;ike-like, It is hereby &s;tatute, that immediatly after the &s;aids Fu|gitives &s;hall be &s;o apprehended, at lea&s;t within eight dayes thereafter: The &s;aids <HI>Committies</HI> of warre with concour&s;e of the Magi&s;trates of the &s;aids Burrowes, or Shyreffes of the Shyre, or Stewarts of Stewartries, or Bailyies of Regalities, &s;hall cau&s;e decimate the &s;aids whole Fugitives, and &s;hall cau&s;e hang the tenth man of them: And if there be but one or moe of them within ten: That they cau&s;e hang one of the &s;aid number, albeit there be but one: And if there bee fifteene of them, that two of them be hanged: And &s;o forth that one be hanged of every tenth per&s;ons within each Shyre or divi&s;ion; And if they bee under the number of ten, as is above pre&s;cribed, that one of them be hanged, as &s;aid is, and that without favour or mercie: And that it bee decided by lot, who of them &s;hall bee &s;o hanged; And the&s;e on whom the lot falleth, to die according to the proportion fore&s;aid, &s;hall bee put to execution, and die the death, as is above pre&s;cribed without favour. And as for all the re&s;t, who &s;hall hapen to e&s;cape by lot, Ordaines them to be all &s;ent here to <HI>Edinburgh</HI> bound as Fugitives to bee di&s;po&s;ed upon, at the plea&s;ure of the &s;aid <HI>Committie</HI> of E&s;tates, their intertainment, after they &s;hall bee ap|prehended, and the charges in &s;ending of them here, to bee upon the expen&s;es of the publicke, if they bee not able to enter|taine them&s;elves. And if any of the Parents, Ma&s;ters, Friends, or acquaintance of the &s;aids Fugitives, &s;hall hereafter recept, harbour, or entertaine, or furni&s;h any of them, being delated, &amp; proven before the Kirk Se&s;&s;ion, or <HI>Committie</HI> of war. The &s;aids recepters &s;hal be puni&s;hed in their per&s;ons and means, conforme to the former acts made there anent. And notwith|&s;tanding of the premi&s;&s;es, if any of the &s;aids Fugitives before they bee apprehended in manner fore&s;aid, &s;hall come and offer them&s;elves, to the <HI>Committie</HI> of warre within their divi&s;ion, or to the Conveener thereof, or to the Mini&s;ters and El|ders of the Paro&s;h, or &s;ome man of qualitie, and crave their pa&s;&s;e to come here to <HI>Edinburgh,</HI> and offer them&s;elves to the cen&s;ure of the <HI>Committie</HI> of E&s;tates: And &s;hall accordingly appeare here with all expedition, that &s;uch per&s;ons as &s;hall &s;o appeare here, and &s;ubmit them&s;elves in manner fore&s;aids, their lives &s;hall bee &s;aved, and &s;uch cour&s;e taken with them, as the &s;aid <HI>Committie</HI> of E&s;tates &s;hall thinke expedient. And &s;ike-like, this pre&s;ent Act anent the &s;aids Fugitives to have full force and execution again&s;t all Fugitives and Run-awayes, who &s;hall hereafter disband and flee in time comming from any Companie or Regiment hereafter to bee leavyed in any part of this Kingdome by warrand from the E&s;tates or <HI>Committie</HI> thereof. And in like manner, the &s;aid <HI>Committie</HI> of E&s;tates con&s;idering that the Countrey is abu&s;ed and burdened with a number of idle and ma&s;terle&s;&s;e men, and vagabounds, having no &s;ettled calling, vocation, nor im+ployment, who may prove noy&s;ome to the Countrey, if they bee not repre&s;&s;ed. Therefore it is &s;tatute and ordained, that where ever any idle or ma&s;terle&s;&s;e men can bee found, not having a lawfull calling, and con&s;tant re&s;idence, and wan|ting a lawfull te&s;timoniall of the Mini&s;ter and Elders of the Paro&s;h, or &s;ome Gentle-man of note and re&s;pect, or Magi&s;trates of Burrows where hee dwelleth, that they &s;hall bee taken, apprehended, and put in the neare&s;t pri&s;on, and &s;hall remaine therein, till they bee di&s;po&s;ed upon at the will of the &s;aids <HI>Committies</HI> of warre, where they are taken for the &s;ervice of the publicke. And further, it is &s;tatute and ordained, that no per&s;on what&s;oever, shall pre&s;ume to travell from his owne bounds, without a lawfull te&s;timoniall in maner fore&s;aid. And if any man or woman &s;hall be found travelling from their owne bounds, wanting a te&s;timoniall (except they bee per&s;ons of re&s;pect and qualitie, not ourly knowne in the&s;e bounds where they shall travell) It is hereby &s;tatute, that they &s;hall be impri&s;oned at the neare&s;t Jayle or Firmance for the &s;pace of eight dayes, and thereafter shall bee carried from Parosh to Parosh by Con&s;tables, or others who shall be appointed for that effect, till they bee brought to their owne re&s;idence, where they shall be examplarly punished for their contempt of this &s;tatute: Requiring hereby all the <HI>Committies</HI> of war, Shyreffes, Magi&s;trates, and others to whom the execution of the&s;e above-written &s;tatutes is incumbent: And to who&s;e knowledge the &s;ame shall come, as they will be an&s;wereable upon their highe&s;t paine, that they, and every one of them exactly pro&s;ecute and execute the &s;ame &s;tatutes: And for bet|ter effectuating hereof, that they appoint qualified per&s;ons in each paroshin, for bringing in, taking and apprehending the &s;aids Run-awayes, idle and ma&s;terle&s;&s;e men, Anent the which whole premi&s;&s;es, the&s;e pre&s;ents shall bee unto them, and everie one of them a &s;ufficient warrand.</P>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="colophon">
<P>Printed at Edinburgh, by Iames Bry&s;on, 1640</P>
</DIV1>
</BACK>
</TEXT>
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