Historical account of the noble family of Kennedy, Marquess of Ailsa and Earl of Cassilis

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Commendator lodged a complaint with the Privy Council against
the Earl, who alleged in defence, that the complaint was either
civil or criminal, and that he ought not to answer thereto to the
Privy Council.* The Privy Council, however, sent him to Dum-
of relaxation against Bargany from letters of caption which Bargany had taken out
against the Abbot, " whom he held in captivity, and would in nowise liberate,"
although he had found surety to underlie the law for being art and part guilty of the
slaughter of umquhill James Ballany and two others, at Langside, in May 1568 ;
and therefore charging Bargany to set the Abbot at liberty within three days. And,
again, on 13th November 1573, Bargany grants a renunciation to the Earl of Cas-
sillis, in implement of a contract between the Abbot on the one part, the Earl on
the second part, and Bargany on the third part, whereby he renounces, in favour of
the Earl, a great variety of lands, part of the Abbacy of Crossraguel, and renounces
and overgives the whole letters of assedation of the said lands and teinds granted
to him by the said Abbot, so that the Earl may possess the same, conform to the
disposition granted to him by James Steuart of Cardonald, except the proper
lands held by Bargany immediately of the King and Laird of Barneil.
* With reference to the roasting of- the Commendator on the 1st and 7th
of September 1570, as to which fact there can be no doubt from the record re-
maining in the Privy Council books, there is a curious instrument in Lord
Ailsa's charter-chest, dated 9th September 1570, two days after the roasting at
Dunure, bearing that the Earl gave possession to Alan, Abbot of Crossraguel,
personally present, of the place, orchard, wood, and four merk land of Crossra-
guel, to be enjoyed and possessed by him during the Earl's pleasure, and in
token thereof the Earl presented to the said Abbot John Davidson and Patrick
M'Cawell, occupiers of the said four merk land, together with the key of the
principal tower of the place of Crossraguel ; and the Abbot received the said
John Davidson and Patrick M'Cawell for his tenants, and that conform to
agreement formerly entered into between the Earl and him. Moreover, the
Earl obliges himself to pay yearly to the Abbot the sum of £100 money of
Scotland ; and for the more sure payment of the said sum, the Earl is to find
two landed gentlemen as cautioners therefor at the Abbot's pleasure — he being
always obliged to give his counsel and service to the Earl. The deed is dated at
the Abbacy of Crossraguel, and the witnesses are, David Campbell, son of Charles
Campbell of Skeldon, Quintin Mure in Kileckie, Hector Fergusson in Crossra-
guel, and Mathew Hamilton in Dalrymple.
The conclusion of this affair was as follows : — On the 5th of April 1571
there is a memorandum of an arrangement, whereby Lord Cassillis paid 500
merks to Robert, Lord Boyd, to be paid to James Steuart of Cardonald, for which,