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

TWEEDDALE’S ‘RELATIONE’, 1683
291
Duke of Hamilton and the Earle of Tweeddales arrivall, the hurt &
prejudice of these things complained of in parliament was made [to]
appear fully & clearly to his Ma[jes]tie, by whose command most of
them were rectified, and a surrender made of the gifts. But the abuses
of the Mint being Haltons concern though fully cleared were onlie
remitted to the Counsell.1 The Duke of Hamilton returning to the next
meeting of the Parliament, the Earle of Tweeddale to avoyd further
misrepresentation of him stayed behind at Court, where the King
commanding him to take the oath and Test and attend his councell as
formerly, where the King was pleased to countenance a motion of his
there that the Com[missione]rs for regulating tread [i.e. trade]
between the Kingdoms might meet, & proceed to a finall setlement of
that affair and command the said com[missione]rs to meet accordingly
as they did, and after severall meetings adjusted all the particulars &
were ready to have made a report when the Duke of Lawderdale
returned from Scotland. But because as he said it had been done
without him, which was a presumption to[o] great for the Earle of
Tweeddale to undertake, nothing more has been heard thereof to this
day. And till his return the Earle of Tweeddale was constantly called
to by the King when any thing that concerned the thesaurie of
Scotland was under consideration, he being one of the
Com[mission]ers. And particularly anent the allowance to be given to
his Comissioner, which had formerly been 50 lib a day during the
Sitting of Parlia[men]t, and 10 lib a day the time of adjournments, as
had been allowed to the Earle of Rothes for three years & to himself
neer five years wherupon ane order was sent for retrenching his
allowance 40 lib. sterling] a day, wherwith he being surprised,
imagining that during his being in Scotland his allowance should not
have been lessened because the 10 lib had been allowed him whilst he
was in England, was ready to apprehend the Earle of Tweeddale had
occasioned this retrenchment, and reckoned it as an unpardonable
cryme which made him implacable unto him ever therafter, and
though he should have knowen, that my L[or]d Midlton & my Lord
Rothes, were payed after the same maner and that it was streatch [i.e.
stretch] enough for him to have 10 lib whilst he was in England
attending as Secretary, being a titular Com[missione]r only to prevent
the coming in of any other, and that it was the Earle of Tweeddales
duety according to his trust & the oath he lay under in his service to
For Halton’s malversations at the mir
below, p. 305, n. 2.