History of the Clan MacLean from its first settlement at Duard Castle, in the Isle of Mull, to the present period

192 History of the Clan MacLean.
nol only with regard to their service and sufferings for his majesty and his father, of
blessed memory, but also with regard to the manifold and great oppressions committed
upon them by the late marquis, which are so notorious to all their neighbors and a great
many of the kingdom as nothing is more evident; and also to consider what advantage
has been taken against them upon account of this pretended debt of 30,000 pounds in
the year 1642, whereof the grounds were unjust, and for which the deceased marquis
never paid 10,000 pounds upon MacLean's account, as can be clearly instructed if your
lordships shall think fit to inquire therein ; and which is now amassed up, notwithstand-
ing the sums which have been paid as is above related, to 200,000 pounds; and where-
upon these advantages of legal diligence were taken against the lairds of MacLean in
the time of their great distress and suffei'ings for his majesty; and in regard the laird
of MacLean and his friends can not but think it hard to be driven from their ancient
possessions by such severe advantages of law upon grounds which materially are unjust;
and that, without vanity, they might have expected from his majesty upon the forfeiture
of the late marquis a discharge of these pretences, and that upon material and just
grounds, in regard of the devastations which were committed upon them by him and
the Ibrces under his command, or by his procurement, upon no other account but their con-
stant adherence to his majesty's service and interest; and though the minority of Sir Allan
Mac Lean at the time of his majesty's restoration and negligence of his friends, did occasion
that they did not apply to his majesty ; and that the benefit of this sum was discerned
to belong to the creditors; and in regard that notwithstanding thereof the earl has not
only interposed between them and the creditors, and so frustrated them of the oppor-
tunity of the easy transactions which they might have made with the creditors, albeit
the debt had been just, but also has so severely followed his legal diligence that upon
pretence of this debt he intended to root out their very name and memory; and see-
ing it could not be expected that the earl, who has tasted so bountifully of his ma-
jesty's liberality, and whereof the defenders do not envy him, would have been
so rigid towards those who to his own knowledge have so eminently suffered for his
majesty, by driving them to these necessities, either to lose all their fortunes and die in
misery, — to i-un to causes for their self preservation which they abhor and detest, de-
siiing nothing so much as to live in obedience to his majesty's laws: that, therefore,
your lordships would seriously enquire into this affair from the original thereof, and to
take such courses thereanent toward the settling and composing thereof as to your lord-
ships in justice shall seem fit and expedient."
It will not be out of place again to state that the original debt was in-
curred by Sir Lachlan MacLean in arming his clan on behalf of the monarchy
at the outbreak of the civil war; that during a part of that period he paid no
revenue to the government. Argyle bought up all the claims against Sir
Lachlan for a trifle, and extorted a bond for £30,000. This amount was
swelled by other debts, both real and fictitious, until the whole amount did not
cost the Argyle family over £10,000. The amount of £10,000 was paid in
cash on the account by Sir Hector, just before the battle of Inverkeithing.
Besides the above amount, between 1652 and 1659, there was paid in cash on
the account £22,000. The whole amount paid on the debt up to 1676, includ-
ing rents, is at this day difficult to tell ; but, including rents, the actual amount
would not fall below £100,000. This does not include spoliations and other
sufferings forced upon the MacLeans. Notwithstanding the small amount of