Genealogie of the Hayes of Tweeddale

90 . APPENDIXTOTHE
against the dittay and writts produced for verificatione, quhilk all being re-
pelled by the Justice, the Lord Balmerino was referred at 8 o'clock in
the night to the cognitione of the assyse. Mr. J. Nisbet, Advocat for
Balmerino, had a long and excellent speach to the same, both with Law
and Divinitie, quhilk he closed with weighty adjurationes and attestationes
to the inquest to doe impartially ; to the quhilk the Lord Advocat maid a
reply, quotting al the places of Scripture to evince obedience to the King,
and opponed Mr. Nisbet in protesting for clemencie, mercie, or pitie, in
the case of their fatall error, that is incident to all to be lavish of the
blood of the Nobilitie, in taking away of him, in whom was seen the
true character of true Nobilitie and piety, quhilk point was by the
said Nisbet eloquentlie amplified. Bot by the Lord Advocat ansuered
thus, — albeit I can not, in case of error, recomend a clement censure,
especiallie the subject being a Nobel man, yet that motion has no
weight, when your Lordship hes to militat by your preposterous pitie
with a moir noble, viz. the sacred person of our glorious and dread Sove-
raigne, the least touch or show of any aspersion to quhose Soveraigne
authoritie, aught to be moir dear to you then all your blood and no-
bilitie, bot much moir in this one poynt, wherin his Majestie, in his go-
vernament, Royall prerogative and Crowne, is taxed and reproched : as for
mercie, grace, pittie, it subsists orriginalie in our blessed Lord, and from
him deryved and devolved in parcels upon the persones of kings, by sub-
ordinatione invested with the power of royall authoritie, and so by con-
sequens proper only to exercyse by secret persones, to mitigat the sharpe
sentens of rigid justice, and that when they will, and how they will.
Bot as for you, ye are not Iudices Legis, bot secundum legem. First,
your pairt is as in deuti, not to respect of the poore to divert justice,
bot to judge imperchelie righteous judgement, nether are they judges of
the intentiounes and circumstances of the persones, bot of the cryme and
fact only, and simplie, and if ye doe so come off the same by successe, what
will, ye are assoyled : for the Justice and Assessors finding the dittay or
so relivant, ye have no moire to doe, bot to pronunce ether to proveine