<!DOCTYPE ETS PUBLIC "-//UMDLPS//DTD EEBOPROOF 2.0//EN">
<ETS>
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<DATE>2014-09-11</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B140715.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="B05143">
<STC T="W">S1014</STC>
<STC T="C">R183833</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">52529184</BIBNO>
<VID>178873</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="declaration">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<HEAD><HI>A DECLARATION Of His HIGHNES COUNCIL in</HI> SCOTLAND, <HI>For the GOVERNMENT thereof; Concerning his Highne&s;&s;e and the Council's ORDER of the 15^t^h of</HI> April, <HI>1656.</HI> For the Relief of Debitors who are willing to &s;atisfie their ju&s;t Debts; And for the Mode|rating the Rigor of Comprizings, and the Severity of Proceedings by Creditors again&s;t Debitors in <HI>SCOTLAND.</HI></HEAD>
<P>_IT hath been the u&s;ual practice of &s;uch Authorities, who were either &s;en&s;ible of, or con|cerned in, the Good of the People under their care, or the Peace of the Commonwealth, after long and de&s;tructive Wars, to &s;et down &s;ome &s;uch equitable and con&s;ciencious Rules for &s;atisfaction of Debts between Party and Party, as might probably extin|gui&s;h new occa&s;ions of di&s;turbance, after the determination of the old, and might with re&s;pect to Particulars have al&s;o a due regard unto the Publick; And, in order to that good end, even in this Nation, in the time of King <HI>James</HI> the third, the People thereof being, by rea&s;on of preceding troubles, much exhau&s;ted of Moneys, It was Enacted in the fifth Parliament of the &s;aid King, That where the Movables or per&s;onal E&s;tate of any Debitor was not competent to &s;atisfie his Debts, his Lands &s;hould be &s;old to the avail of the Debt, and the Creditor paid there|out; And if no Buyer or Purcha&s;er was found, then that a Iury of the mo&s;t di&s;-intere&s;&s;ed and worthie&s;t per&s;ons of the Shire &s;hould apprize the &s;aid Lands, which then were to be a&s;&s;igned to the Creditor to the avail of the Debt, as may more fully appear in the &s;aid Act: Which Law &s;eems to be grounded both upon Iu&s;tice and Prudence; for, as on the one &s;ide no one could rati|onally complain, that he was paid in Land in&s;tead of Money, when nothing but Land was to be found to make payment in: So, on the other &s;ide, it had not been &s;afe for tho&s;e intru&s;ted with the Publick Peace, to have indangered the Quiet thereof, by permitting particular per&s;ons to thru&s;t many into di&s;orders in pro&s;ecuting impo&s;&s;ibilities, and others for not acting them. Be&s;ides, the ultimate act of the Law, as to giving of Satisfaction, where the Debitor hath no per&s;onal E&s;tate or Movables, is, To comprize his Lands: &s;o that this manner of payment differs not in the qua|lity, but in the degrees of the &s;atisfaction, and is nothing el&s;e but in effect by competent Iudges, to &s;hare between both Debitor and Creditor the production of a publick calamity.</P>
<P>The Lords of the Se&s;&s;ions of this Nation, by the rules or practice of their Court, have (be|fore ever the Authority of <HI>England</HI> was imbraced and &s;etled here) frequently altered and mitigated the Rigor of Comprizings, and have taken off the benefit of Priority in Diligence, and divided pro|portionably the E&s;tate of the Debitor between the Creditors, as is evident in the Laird of <HI>We&s;t-Nisbets</HI> and Mr. <HI>John Rindes</HI> ca&s;es, be&s;ides many others, too tedious to be ennumerated; the ground whereof &s;eems to be clear: For, though the benefit of Priority in Diligence in Comprizing, is, what all Creditors may con&s;ider as their advantage, yet when one hath obtained it (as but one can obtain it) then it turneth u&s;ually to the prejudice of all, for the re&s;t are commonly thereby ex|cluded for a long time, if not for ever; &s;o that what is plau&s;ible to all in the Notion, is too frequent|ly ruinous to all (but one) in the Practice: Therefore the Iudges, who con&s;idered the good of many before the good of one, and what is good in &s;ub&s;tance, more then in &s;hew, by the wi&s;e latitude left unto them, have acted, e&s;pecially in ca&s;es of urgency, according to the highe&s;t humane Law; nay, according to that for which all humane Laws are, Even the good and &s;afety of the People: And if only for Con&s;cience and Equity &s;ake &s;uch mea&s;ure hath been u&s;ually extended to &s;ome in ca&s;es of great Exigency, much more ought it to be practized to many, if the condition of tho&s;e many be parallel to tho&s;e few, &s;ince to the equality of the ca&s;e in point of right there is the additional ar|gument of contributing to the Publick Quiet, which, if di&s;turbed, may involve the Creditors into higher prejudice, than by their pro&s;ecution they can expect advantage; Be&s;ides, it &s;eems but equal that the E&s;tate which was the foundation of all the Credit, &s;hould be equally divided between all the Creditors.</P>
<P>Since, by what hath been &s;aid, it is evident that particular per&s;ons by an equitable and con&s;cien|tious proceeding, have got rever&s;ed the Priority of Diligence in Comprizing, and brought the De|bitors whole E&s;tate to a proportionable divi&s;ion among&s;t the Creditors: It cannot but be reputed a &s;ignal Iu&s;tice and Mercy, to put (as much as well may be) all concerned therein, a&s;well Credi|tors as Debitors, into a capacity of receiving &s;peedily and cheaply that benefit, which &s;ome indivi|dual per&s;ons have already enjoyed, and may hereafter enjoy with co&s;t and expence of time.</P>
<PB REF="2">
<P>His Highne&s;&s;e therefore &s;eriou&s;ly minding the Good and Quiet of the Subjects of this Nation, the practice of other Authorities, a&s;well as of &s;ome preceding ones of this Country, and yeelding to none of his Predece&s;&s;ors in his care of, and tenderne&s;&s;e towards tho&s;e under his Government; As al&s;o con&s;idering how after long and bloudy confu&s;ions many things are nece&s;&s;ary to be perfor|med for a general good, which po&s;&s;ibly in a confirmed Peace might not be altogether &s;o requi&s;ite; Hath appointed his Council here to cau&s;e to be Proclaimed His and the Councils Order of the <HI>15.</HI> of <HI>April 1656. For the Relief of Debitors who are willing to &s;atisfie their ju&s;t Debts, and for the moderating of the Rigor of Comprizings, and the Severity of Proceedings by Creditors again&s;t Debitors in SCOTLAND:</HI> Wherein are contained &s;uch ju&s;t and con&s;cientious Rules for rendering more clearly practicable, what relates to differences between Creditors and Debitors, that among&s;t many eminent good fruits of his Government, that Order will not be e&s;teemed the lea&s;t. Which &s;aid Order of his Highne&s;&s;e and Council, all Per&s;ons within this Nation are required to take due notice of, and give obedience thereunto. And the Commi&s;&s;ioners for Admini&s;tration of Iu&s;tice are to take the be&s;t and &s;peedie&s;t care they can to put the &s;aid Order in &s;uch effectual execution, that all per&s;ons con|cerned therein may enjoy the benefit thereof.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE>Given at <HI>Edinburgh</HI>
<DATE>the 22. day of <HI>May,</HI> 1656.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SIGNED><HI>Signed in the Name, and by Order of the Council. <HI>BROGHILL,</HI> Pre&s;ident.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="license">
<OPENER><DATELINE><DATE>Thur&s;day the 22. day of <HI>MAY,</HI> 1656.</DATE> At his Highne&s;&s;e Council in EDINBURGH,</DATELINE></OPENER>
<P>ORdered, That the above Declaration, be forthwith Printed and Publi&s;hed.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>EMANUEL DOWNING, Cl. of the Council.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="colophon">
<P><HI>EDINB&V;RGH,</HI> Printed by <HI>Christopher Higgins,</HI> in <HI>Hart&s;</HI>-Clo&s;e, over again&s;t the Trone-Church, 1656.</P>
</DIV1>
</BACK>
</TEXT>
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