History of the earldoms of Strathern, Monteith, and Airth

OF STRATHERN AND MONTEJTH. 47
2nd. That it would be an imputation upon william
His Majesty's honour to restore that Earldom orMoNTEiia!^
to the successors of Malise Graham, from whom ^^^^'
it was taken by King James the First, " a vir-
tuous and just Prince;" because such restora-
tion would be to asperse that Monarch with
" injury, oppression, and avarice,'* and be a
justification of his murder by Sir Robert Gra-
ham, for having wrongfully usurped the Earl-
dom.
3rd. That as the Earldom had been annexed
to the Crown by Parliament, it would be inex-
pedient to repeal that proceeding.
4th. That as the Earldom had been " set in
few " by Parliament to various tenants in the
year 1508, many " honest gentlemen " would be
ruined and divested of their estates if it were to
be again separated from the Crown.
5th. That if the Earl of Monteith were to
recover the Earldom, it would produce great
diminution of His Majesty's "rent and obe-
dience," because much land and many persons
would be subjected to the Earl, as they would
then hold of him ; among others, the Earls of
Montrose, Perth, Tullibardin, the Viscount of
Duplin, Lord Maderty, &c.
6th. That King James the Sixth always re-
fused to grant the Title, and still more the ter-
ritorial Earldom of Strathern, to any subject,
saying to those who sought it, that " he had no