Comments in refutation of pretensions advanced for the first time, and statements in a recent work "The Stirlings of Keir and their family papers"

134 COMMENTS ON KEIR PERFORMANCE,
elude that, as is ordinarily presumed on such occasions, silence may be im-
plied to give consent in his favour, and that no evidence in point exists ;
and to this conclusion, directly in behalf of DrumpeUier, the honourable
Member for Perthshire may be necessarily held to assent.
At the same time it may be added, that due attention and consideration
will always be paid by the exponent to evidence of an adverse nature — if
fully relevant and legal — that may bodily be tendered and submitted to him,
should such course be adopted or resolved on.
Why not The exceptionable method pursued by the Keir Performance in adducing
ongumi dceds iu evidence has already been complained of, and a striking instance of
Proeura-
toryini492 it was poiutcd to in the case of a grant by Keir to Bischop iu 1541, where
regular i[iq words of the Original are not given, and the derivation of the document
discussion ; o o '
1 gee Chap- is actually suppressed.^ The subject of the present chapter requires that
umier' attention should again be called to this most reprehensible conduct ; and the
No. II. ' question may naturally be asked. Why does the Keir editor give so summary
and brief an account of tlie preceding Gadder procuratory in 1492 1 — so im-
portant as it is, from its legally fixing the status of Robert and Andrew, by
grafting them on to the parent stem of Gadder, and also from the appeu-
sion of the seal of their brother WiUiam of Gadder, thus for the first time
disclosing the fine chivalrous old Gadder crest. Not a word of the original
is supplied, and whether it be in Latin or in Scotch is difficult to be inferred
from the meagre account that is given. This practice is most irregular, and
quite alien at once to legal and to antiquarian discussions ; and what makes
it the more remarkable is, that in cases whei'e the writs are less material, and
sometimes where they are not even connected with the Stirhngs, either full
copies or excerpts from the originals are entered in the chartulary appended
to the Stirling liistory, and reference is made to them on suitable occasions.
One of this class of documents may be here instanced — viz. a notable grant
by Bertram, the son of Henry de Ulvestoun to " Waldevo Kokes," his cousin,
after a litigation between them about two bovates of land in the territory of
Perform-' Eytou, — of which document the editor is at pains to give an engraved
lu^' ^ facsimile ! ^ What this high and dignified family of Kokes have to do with
the subject at large, is difficult to conceive. The grant does not contain the
least mention of any Stirlings, nor has it the sUghtest connection witli any
family of that name. It embodies quite a commonplace transaction, is
isolatedly introduced, and does not contain an item of information worthy of