History of the earldoms of Strathern, Monteith, and Airth

STRATHERN, MONTEITH, AND AIRTH. 247
iner themselves with their undisturbed enioyment Mr. Barclay
° . . p . Allardice's
of the rank and dignity of Earl of Monteith. claim to the
** That the said William seventh Earl of Mon- strathem Tnd
teith, in the reign of King Charles the First, ^^''"'"'^•
held the offices of President of the Council and Petition to the
T ■ /"( 1 • CI 1 1 1 • • Queen.
Justice-Creneral m (Scotland ; but, conceivmg i84o.
that his ancestors had been unjustly treated in
respect of their ancient honours and estates, he,
under the sanction of Sir Thomas Hope, then
His Majesty's Advocate, obtained three services
in the Court of the Sheriff of Edinburgh, on the
5th of May, 1630, which were duly retoured to the
Chancery in Scotland : one, as nearest and law-
ful heir to David Earl of Strathern, his ' abavus
attavi ; ' another, as nearest and lawful heir to
Patrick Graham, Earl of Strathern, his *proavus
attavi ; * and the third, as nearest and lawful heir
to Malise Earl of Menteth, his * proavus abavi.'
" That, at that period, historical doubts ex-
isted, which have since been clearly removed,
as to the validity of the marriage of Robert the
Second to EUzabeth Muir, of which marriage
King Charles was descended ; and on account
of these doubts, and of some imprudent speeches
of the then Earl of Monteith, intimating that
King Charles only held the Crown by his suf-
ferance, he was deprived of his offices, and after
several transactions with the Crown it was deemed
fit to grant him a new Title, namely, the Earldom
of Airth, which had not the same associations