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<DATE>2009-02-05</DATE>
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<NAME>Scott Lepisto</NAME>
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<PB REF="1" MS="y"><!-- PDF PAGE 16 -->
<HEAD>A PROCLAMATION, Again&s;t Conventicles.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SIGNED><HI>_CHARLES,</HI> by the grace of GOD King of great <HI>Britain, France</HI> and <HI>Ireland,</HI> defender of the Faith,</SIGNED>
<SALUTE>To  <GAP DESC="blank">  Macers, or Me&s;&s;engers at armes, our Sheriffs in that part, conjunctly and &s;everallie, &s;pecially con&s;titute Greiting,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>Fora&s;much as by &s;everall Laws and Acts of Parliament, and &s;pecial|ly by the fifth Act of the &s;econd Se&s;&s;ion of this current Parliament, all unwarrantable meetings and Con|venticles either in hou&s;es or in the fields, upon pretence of Religion and religious exerci&s;es, are prohibited and di&s;charged, under certain great pains and penalties: which Act hitherto hath not received that obedience which was due thereunto; In regard the Lords of Our Privy Councill, the Sheriffes of Shires, and o|ther Judges to whom the execution thereof is committed, have not had that information from the Heri|tors, in who&s;e bounds the&s;e Conventicles were keeped, and others; which was nece&s;&s;ary, that the per&s;ons guilty might be proceeded again&s;t according to Law: And &s;eing we are fully re&s;olved to u&s;e all po&s;&s;ible means for making the &s;aid Act effectuall, being of great concernment to Religion, and the peace of this Church and Kingdome: And it being the duty of all our good Subjects not only to give obedience to Our Laws, by their own peaceable and orderly deportment; But likewi&s;e in the&s;e places where they have power and intere&s;t, to u&s;e their endeavoures for preventing and &s;uppre&s;&s;ing &s;uch unwarrantable and di&s;orderly practices, as Conventicles are, being &s;o farr contrair to Law, and de&s;tructive of the publick peace: And in order thereto, to give timous notice of any &s;uch Meetings keeped within their bounds when the &s;ame comes to their knowledge. OUR Will is herefore, and We charge you &s;traitly and command, that in continent the&s;e Our Let|ters &s;een, ye pa&s;&s;e, and in Our Name and Authority command and charge all Heritors, Liferenters and propper Wod&s;etters of Lands in this Kingdome to be carefull, that no hou&s;e or field Conventicle, upon pret<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">u<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">e of, or for Religious exerci&s;e or wor&s;hip, be keeped within the bounds of the re&s;pective Lands belonging to them: and in ca&s;e any &s;hall be keeped in any part of their Lands, &s;o &s;oon as they &s;hall have notice thereof, that they immediatly give information of the &s;ame, of the per&s;ons pre&s;ent thereat, and other circum&s;tances thereof &s;ua farr as con&s;i&s;ts in their knowledge, to one of Our Privy Councellors, or to the Sheriffe of the Shire, Stewart of the Stewartrie, Lord or Baillie of the Regality or Royalty, or their Deputes within who&s;e juri&s;diction the Lands or Hou&s;es, where the Conventicle was keeped, do ly certify|ing &s;uch Heritors, and others fore&s;aids, who &s;hall know of any Conventicles keeped upon any part of their Lands, or in any Hou&s;es there|intill, and &s;hall not di&s;cover the &s;ame, and what they know thereof, to the Sheriffes and other Magi&s;trates afore&s;aids, or their Deputes, with|in the &s;pace of three dayes after the &s;ame comes to their knowledge, that they &s;hall be fyned for each Conventicle, not delated by them, in the fourt part of the yearly valued rent of the whole Lands belonging to them in Heritage, Liferent or propper Wod&s;et, within the Shire where the Conventicle &s;hall be keeped, and we do hereby &s;trictly require the Sheriffes of Sheriffdomes, Stewarts of Stewartries, Lords and Baillies of Regalities or Royalties and their Deputes, upon delation made of Conventicles by the Heritors, or information given by any other per&s;ons thereanent, to proceed to the tryall thereof, and to put the fore&s;aid Act of Parliament to due and vigorous execution. And We do hereby Authorize and require the Sheriffs and other Magi&s;trates fore&s;aids and their Deputes, to call before them &s;uch Heritors, Liferenters and propper Wod&s;eters, who &s;hall know of any Conventicles keeped in their Lands, and &s;hall not di&s;cover the &s;ame, within the &s;pace fore&s;aid, and (their knowledge thereof being proven, either by their own oaths, or other Legall probation,) to inflict upon them the fore&s;aid fyne, whereof one third part, to be applyed for the u&s;e of the &s;aids Judges; another third part to the per&s;on who &s;hall give in|formation concerning the&s;e Heritors, and a third part thereof to be uplifted for Our u&s;e: And it is hereby declared, that if the &s;aids Sheriffs and other Judges fore&s;aids, and their Deputes &s;hall be remi&s;s and negligent in performance of their dutie in the premi&s;es, they &s;hall be called before Our Privy Councill, and &s;everely puni&s;hed. And it is hereby declared, that as for any Conventicles that &s;hall happen to be keeped within Burghs Royall, the Magi&s;trates of the Burghs &s;hall be lyable to &s;uch fynes for every &s;uch Conventicle as Our Councill &s;hall think fit to impo&s;e, and that the Ma&s;ter or Mi&s;tris of the hou&s;e where the Conventicle &s;hall be keeped, and the per&s;ons pre&s;ent there|at, &s;hall relieve the Magi&s;trates, as Our Councill &s;hall order the &s;ame, conform to the fore&s;aid fifth Act of the &s;econd Se&s;&s;ion of this pre&s;ent Parliament, intituled, Act again&s;t Conventicles: And We ordain the&s;e pre&s;ents to be Printed and publi&s;hed at the Market Cro&s;s of <HI>Edin|burgh,</HI> and at the Market Cro&s;&s;es of the head Burghs, of the &s;everall Shires, and that likewi&s;e the Shireffs and other Magi&s;trates fore&s;aids, and their Deputes cau&s;e intimate the &s;ame at the &s;everall Paroch Churches within their re&s;pective Juri&s;dictions, that none pretend ignorance: The which to do we commit to you conjunctly and &s;everally Our full power, be thir Our letters, delivering them be you duely execute and indor&s;at again to the Bearer.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE>Given under Our Signet at <HI>EDINB&V;RGH,</HI> <DATE>the &s;econd day of <HI>Aprill,</HI> and of Our Reigne the twentie fifth Year, 1673.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SIGNED><HI>Al. Gib&s;on, Cl.</HI> S^t^i Concilij.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
<CLOSER>GOD &s;ave the KING.</CLOSER>
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