Red and white book of Menzies

346 THE "RED &> WHITE" BOOK OF MENZIES. [a.d. 1704-17 12.
Baron Comrie, sat in the Scottish Parliament in the reign of Queen Anne, held at
Edinburgh on the 14th August 1704, as one of the commissioners for Perthshire.
His name is entered in the Parliamentary Rolls as " Captain James Meinzies
of Comerie."
It was during the minority of Sir Robert, and in the time of the tutorship of
Captain James Menzies of Comrie, that the great dispute arose about the right of
the Menzies', as patrons of the Kirk o' Dull, to call the minister of Dull. The
correspondence, which is in the Charter Room of Castle Menzies, with other papers
relating to the disputed settlement of the Rev. Thomas Menzies as the minister of
the parish of Dull, in the presbytery of Dunkeld and shire of Perth, 1712-1713,
are numerous : —
This case occurred about the time of the restoration of lay patronage by
the Act of Queen Anne in the year 1712. John, first Duke of Athole, wished to
exercise the right of patronage in favour of a nominee of his own, while Christian
Campbell, the Dowager Lady Menzies, and Captain James wished the Rev. Thomas
Menzies appointed their minister. The principal proprietors in the parish and the
parishioners appear to have sided with Lady Menzies. She was a grand-daughter
of Archibald, Marquis of Argyll, and she exercised the hereditary right of the
Menzies' to take an active part in the settlement of the Presbyterian clergyman
in the parish of Dull, in which parish her son, Sir Robert Menzies, Bart, the
young Laird of Menzies, was the principal owner of landed property.
Of the papers and correspondence, which are still preserved at Castle Menzies,
the following excerpts from them will show the keen feeling on the subject
between the Duke of Athole, Dowager Lady Menzies, and Captain James Menzies
of Comrie : —
" The Church of Dull stands within Sir Robert Menzies', the Laird of Weems',
intrest, about 4 miles from Castle Menzies, which becoming vacant two years agoe
by the death of the late encumbent, the presbytery stirred up all concerned to
call a minister. The Tutor of Weem (Captain James Menzies of Comerie), the
Laird of Grantullie, and other heritors, who have the greatest intrest in the
parish, and twelve elders, petitioned the Presbytery of Dunkeld for one of their
number to moderate a call, which the presbytery delayed to do for severall
months, in deferance to the Duke of Athole, since he did not concur in the
petition, albeit his interest in the parish were not very considerable.
" At last the presbytery thought fit to appoint a call to be moderated upon
1st April 17 1 2, which after intimation was accordingly done, wherein at a meeting
of all the heritors and elders duly qualified, the Rev. Thomas Menzies was voted
to be their minister, nemine contradicente, and on 2nd April the call was presented
to the presbytery.
" For various reasons the Duke of Athole, though he had no objection against