<!DOCTYPE ETS PUBLIC "-//UMDLPS//DTD EEBOPROOF 2.0//EN">
<ETS>
<TEMPHEAD>
<REVDESCR>
<CHANGE>
<DATE>2013-11-01</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>John Pas</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B130910.pdcc.</ITEM>
</CHANGE>
</REVDESCR>
</TEMPHEAD>
<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="B02779">
<STC T="W">D2192A</STC>
<STC T="C">R175981</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">51784502</BIBNO>
<VID>174914</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="petition">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<HEAD>To His Grace, the Duke of <HI>Queens|berry,</HI> Her Maje&s;ty's High Com|mi&s;&s;ioner, and the Right Honou|rable the E&s;tates of Parliament.</HEAD>
<HEAD><HI>The PETITION of</HI> George Drummond <HI>Keeper of the Tolbooth of</HI> Edinburgh,</HEAD>
<OPENER>Humbly Sheweth,</OPENER>
<P>THAT your Petitioner having a Commi&s;&s;ion from the Good Town of <HI>Edinburgh,</HI> to be Keeper of their Tolbooth, with all Fees, Emoluments, and Privileges which had been enjoyed by any formerly in that Office, and free of all Burdens what|&s;oever, he has been in Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the &s;aid Office, by vertue of his Right, and all the Perqui&s;its thereto belonging.</P>
<P>A great part of his Charge being the Receiving and Keeping of Pri&s;oners committed for Crimes, from all places of the Kingdom, Your Petitioner was by nece&s;&s;ary Con&s;equence obliged to Maintain and Aliment them, (the Parties them&s;elves being for the mo&s;t part very poor) and he gave in his Accompts from time to time to the Lords of Trea&s;ury, who before the Year 1688 ordered punctual Pay|ment, to be made both of the Aliment and Hou&s;e-dues of &s;uch Pri|&s;oners, <HI>Excepting</HI> what was due for tho&s;e who were &s;et at Liberty, u|pon the General Indemnity ju&s;t Publi&s;h'd before the Revolution, a|mounting to above four Hundred lib. <HI>Sterl:</HI> of which, he expected to be re-imbur&s;ed by the Government, and what he &s;till hopes will be taken into Con&s;ideration.</P>
<P>Your Petitioner has, &s;ince the Revolution, continu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> in the &s;ame Office, and till within the&s;e 7 Years or thereby, has received &s;everal Precepts for the &s;aid Hou&s;e-dues, and Aliment jointly to Accompt, from the Lords of Trea&s;ury, and upon the Faith thereof, did con|tinue to advance the Aliment of Criminal Pri&s;oners as formerly; But finding that the&s;e con&s;tant Out-givings did far exhau&s;t all his other Profits, Your Petitioner was not able to &s;upport &s;o great a Burden, which gave Occa&s;ion to Her Maje&s;ty's Advocate, to repre&s;ent that Matter to the Lords of Privy Council, who were plea&s;ed to deter|mine, That the Magi&s;trats of <HI>Edinburgh</HI> &s;hould pay the Hou&s;e-dues of Pri&s;oners Incarcerate for Murder, Theft, and &s;uch Crimes, But that both their Aliment and the Hou&s;e-dues of Pri&s;oners on account, and by order of the Government, &s;hould be defrayed by the Publick, and recommended Your Petitioner to the Lords of Trea&s;ury for that Effect, as the Act it &s;elf dated 3 of <HI>October</HI> 1704 Years at more length bears: But upon a Repre&s;entation given in by the Good Town, <HI>Signify|ing,</HI>
<PB REF="2">That the Government had been in con&s;tant U&s;e to make Payment of both the&s;e Charges, and that they are &s;o to continue by the late Act of Security, <HI>as al&s;o,</HI> That Sheriffs at Clearing of their Equies are in u&s;e to get large Allowance on the account of Publick Pri&s;oners, which demon&s;trates, That the&s;e are a Charge on the Government; there was a &s;top put to the Sentence, to your Petitioner's great Lo&s;s and Di&s;appointment.</P>
<P>There being no further Procedure in this Bu&s;ine&s;s &s;ince that time, and it being of very Great Moment to your Petitioner, to have &s;ome Certainty to depend on, he is nece&s;&s;itate with all Humility, to lay his Ca&s;e before Your Grace and the Right Honourable the E&s;tates of Parliament, and begs leave to repre&s;ent,</P>
<P>That his Charge, being a very great Tru&s;t, obliges him to find Caution for a greater Value than any other Office in the Kingdom; That it binds him to con&s;tant Attendance, and to keep many Ser|vants, for whom he is an&s;werable; That be&s;ides, your Petitioner and his Cautioners are obnoxious to the con&s;tant Hazard of the E|&s;cape of Pri&s;oners and otherwi&s;e, and did actually &s;u&s;tain the Lo&s;s of near 300 lib. <HI>Sterling</HI> by the breaking up the Tolbooth &s;ummarly, without any Warrant from the Government, about five Years ago.</P>
<P>All this being con&s;idered, your Petitioner is firmly per&s;waded, That the Fees and Emoluments, belonging to his Office, (of which the Aliment and Hou&s;e-dues of Criminal Pri&s;oners make a great part) will be thought but a &s;uitable Recompen&s;e for his Trouble &amp; Charge, e&s;pecially &s;eeing his Claim is expre&s;ly founded on his Pri|vate Right.</P>
<P>Your Petitioner has an entire Confidence, that the Wi&s;dom, Ju|&s;tice, and Goodne&s;s of Your Grace and the High Court of Parliament, will fall on &s;ome effectual Means, to refound your Petitioner of the&s;e Sums, a gr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters"> part of which he hath advanced out of his Pocket on the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span"> Account, (the laying out whereof has been a very heavy Weight on all his other Bu&s;ine&s;s) and if he be not re-imbur|&s;ed, of what is due of bygone Debts, and Provi&s;ion made for Relief in time coming, he and his numerous Family will be inevitably ruin'd, which will be very hard after &s;o long and Faithful Service. And &s;eeing be&s;ides his &s;aid Lo&s;s at the Revolution, and in manner a|bove-&s;pecified, there is Re&s;ting to your Petitioner the Sum of 1350 l: <HI>Sterl.</HI> or thereby. And that at pre&s;ent there are &s;everal Criminals in Pri&s;on, to be brought to Tryal, who are at the Point of Starving, unle&s;s &s;ome &s;peedy Remedy be applyed.</P>
<P><HI>May it therefore plea&s;e Your Grace &amp; the Right Honourable the E&s;tates of Parliament, to determine, who &s;hall be lyable in Payment of the fore&s;aid Hou&s;e-dues and Aliment of Criminal Pri&s;oners, and to lay down &s;ome effectual Rule, by which not only the Bygones may be paid up, but Your Petitioner have &s;ome Certainty to depend on for Payment of the &s;ame in time coming.</HI> And your Petitioner &s;hall ever Pray, &amp;c.</P>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
