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<DATE>2013-08-02</DATE>
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<NAME>Colm MacCrossan</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch Z130410.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<IDG S="marc" R="OX" ID="B02054">
<STC T="W">C298D</STC>
<STC T="C">R173356</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">52211723</BIBNO>
<VID>175455</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="letter">
<PB N="1" REF="1">
<HEAD>To his Grace, His Majesties high Commi&s;&s;ioner, and the Right Honourable the E&s;tates of Parliament,</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">Mary <HI>Counte&s;s of</HI> Callender, <HI>and her Husband for his Interest,</HI></HEAD>
<OPENER>Humbly &s;heweth,</OPENER>
<P>THat where <HI>I</HI> being conveened before the Lords of Their Maje&s;ties Privy Council, at the In&s;tance of <HI>James</HI> now Earl of <HI>Callender</HI> and the Earl of <HI>Linlithgow,</HI> and his other Tutors for their Intere&s;t; he obtained again&s;t me the Modification of one Thou&s;and pounds <HI>Scots</HI> of Aliment yearly, to be payed to him out of my Joynture, wherein I was &s;ecured by all the Security that Law could make me: By which Sentence being greatly grieved, I cannot but lay before this high and Honourable Court of Parliament, the many and &s;trong Rea&s;ons that I offered to the Lords of his Maje&s;ties Privy Council, in my own Defence. As fir&s;t, That there was no pre&s;&s;ing Nece&s;&s;ity for any Ali|ment, &s;ince the Earls Mother had given him a thou&s;and Merks yearly, as was acknowledged, and he was but an Infant, whom &s;uch a Sum in his Circum|&s;tances might very well &s;erve. 2. The Nece&s;&s;ity being taken off, and this que&s;tion of Aliment dipping vi&s;ibly upon the Point of Civil Right, it was un|denyable that the Pur&s;uite was more proper to be intented before the Lords of Se&s;&s;ion than before the Lords of the Privy Council, who are not in u&s;e to re|ceive Complaints of that kind, except where the Nece&s;&s;ity is urged, as a matter that admits of no delay, which could not be alledged in this ca&s;e. But 3. To &s;hew that your Petitioner de&s;ired no delay but a fair Di&s;cu&s;&s;ion in Point of right, I offered to con&s;ent that the matter &s;hould be &s;ummarly di&s;cu&s;&s;ed by the Lords of Se&s;&s;ion. 4. To come clo&s;e to the Ca&s;e it &s;elf, I did contend that the ordi|nary Motives of Equity for giving the Heir an Aliment again&s;t the Liferenter, did wholly cea&s;e in my ca&s;e, in as much as I am nothing in Blood to this Earl of <HI>Callender,</HI> and that he is not Lineally de&s;cended of me, nor is the Debt that &s;traitnes him either my Husbands or his predece&s;&s;ors Debts, but on the contra|trary, Debts contracted by his Father after my Husbands decea&s;e, and that I was po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed of my Joynture, &s;o that to burden me with an Aliment in this Earls fa|vours, where there was neither ty of Bloud, nor the lea&s;t colour of Equity, upon the account of my Husbands Debts, was a ca&s;e wholly unprefidented.</P>
<P>But 5. As <HI>I</HI> truely am a Stranger to the Family in Blood, though never in kind|ne&s;s, &s;o any Joynture <HI>I</HI> have was mo&s;t onerou&s;ly purcha&s;ed by the Portion <HI>I</HI> brought with me, which was no le&s;s than 38000 pounds <HI>Scots,</HI> and for which all the Joynture was but about 8000 Merks yearly, which is the lea&s;t that a Per&s;on of my Quality can live upon, and the &s;ame can admit of no Deduction: whereby it is evident, that there is no more Rea&s;on to take an Aliment off me, than of any other &s;ingular Succe&s;&s;or. 6. In an Agreement with this Earls
<PB N="2" REF="2">Father, I got from him an Ratification of my Jointure, with an expre&s;s Reun|nciation of all Claims of Aliment, which in &s;en&s;e and Rea&s;on &s;eems effectual|ly to exclude this Earl who is his Son and Heir. 7. Upon the whole matter <HI>I</HI> am in effect, no more lyable to an Aliment to this Earl of <HI>Callender,</HI> than if by his own Debt and Mi&s;management he had brought him&s;elf to this Nece&s;&s;ity, which no per&s;on will, or can &s;ay &s;hould ever be a Strait upon me, for as to me this Earl and his Father are both the &s;ame per&s;on, and the Fathers Debt doth now &s;traiten his Son: It was never my Husbands Debt, but contracted after his death, and my Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of my Jointure: and farder this Claim of Ali|ment is renunced by the Father, &s;o that on all the&s;e Con&s;iderations, it is plain and evident that I can be no more obliged to Aliment this Earl, then if he had brought him&s;elf to this Di&s;tre&s;s by his own Mi&s;managment and Extravagancie, which no rational man will alledge; &s;eing, therefore that my Ca&s;e is &s;o &s;ingular, and my Defences were &s;o &s;trong: and that notwith&s;tanding, <HI>I</HI> clearly proved eve|ry Point, that I alledged in matter of Fact: it was yet ca&s;t by the Lords of Councils Sentence, <HI>I</HI> cannot but in all humility Addre&s;s my &s;elf to this High and Soveraign Court, as the only Court and Power where any Help or Reme|dy may be found.</P>
<P>My it therefore plea&s;e your Grace and Lord&s;hips, in con&s;ideration of the Premi&s;&s;es, to &s;u&s;pend the fore&s;aid Sentence of Council, and all fur|der Execution upon it, and to grant Warrand to Cite the &s;aid Earl and his Tutors for their intere&s;t, to compear before your Lord&s;hips, to hear the fore&s;aid Ca&s;e and Que&s;tion, with the Sentence upon it reviewed and rectified, or otherways to remit the Di&s;cu&s;&s;ion thereof to the Lords of Council and Se&s;&s;ion, the only proper Judges of Right, that they may determine therein, notwith&s;tanding of the fore&s;aid Sentence of Privy Council, and as if the &s;ame had never been pronounced.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>And your Grace and Lord&s;hips Petitioner &s;hall ever pray.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
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