Series 5 > Miscellany [of the Scottish History Society] XIII

MISCELLANY XIII
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in 1597.1 He was appointed a justice depute in 1607, evidently through
the patronage of the earl of Argyll, justice general.2 He was described as
Argyll’s ‘agent’ in 1616, and his connection with his patron can be traced
from 1600 to the 1620s.3 He was a more prominent figure than the first
Alexander; he was normally designated ‘Mr’, and he eventually acquired
the estate of Blair. But there seems to be nothing connecting him with
Mar or with the treasury—and since he was a prominent figure, any such
connections should have left traces in the records. This second Alexander
therefore seems a much less likely author.
The most straightforward interpretation of the document’s origin is
that Colville wrote it for the earl of Mar around the time when he became
treasurer, on 9 December 1616. It must postdate 1606, since it cites a
statute of that date.4 However, 1616 is not the only possibility. When Mar
was appointed, there was already a treasurer depute. Sir Gideon Murray
of Elibank, who had held office since 1612, and who continued until his
death in 1621 to bear more responsibility for day-to-day treasury work
than the grandee Mar.5 Murray had acted for Mar’s predecessor, the royal
favourite Robert Kerr, earl of Somerset, who was Murray’s nephew and
who had been appointed treasurer on 23 December 1613. It might be
suggested that Colville wrote the ‘Breiff Information’ in 1612 for
Murray, or even in 1613 for Somerset (although Somerset seems to have
had no practical connection with his office). But the fact that Murray
provided continuity across 1616 need not rule out that date, since it seems
reasonable to assume that Mar would have wanted his own sources of
advice, so as not to rely wholly on Murray. Mar’s long-standing personal
connections with the Colvilles of Cleish reinforce the view that he
commissioned the document and tend to confirm the 1616 date.
Turning to the ‘Memoriall’, this is found in a late seventeenth-century
volume of copies of Scottish administrative and financial documents,
1 Alexander Colville, commendator of Culross, was a younger son of Sir James Colville
of Ochiltree, afterwards of East Wemyss (d. 1540). Robert Colville of Cleish, treasurer
clerk, was the son of Sir James’s illegitimate son Robert. For these relationships see J.B.
Paul (ed.). The Scots Peerage, 9 vols. (Edinburgh, 1904-14), ii, 546-52,569-71.
2 R. Pitcairn (ed.). Ancient Criminal Trials in Scotland, 3 vols. (Bannatyne Club, 1833), ii,
D, 527.
3 RPC, x, 442; RMS, vii, 255, 431, 553; RPC, viii, 191, 742; J. Willcock, The Great
Marquess: Life and Times of Archibald... Marquess of Argyll, 1607-1661 (Edinburgh,
1903), 353,364.
4 Below, p. 218.
5 For his colourful career see A.C. Murray, Memorials of Sir Gideon Murray of Elibank
(Edinburgh, 1932).