Series 5 > Religious Controversy in Scotland 1625-1639

196
RELIGIOUS CONTROVERSY IN SCOTLAND
When these and such like sufficient men are elected and leited by the old
session to succeed as new sessioners, and their names given up in writ to him, he
refuses to writ the nomination, and conceals their written names without cause
or law, usurping therin in all things a negative voice as pope, and therby declareth
honest and sufficient men unjustly by law uncapable or unfamous.
He retrenches the ordinar wounted number of sessioners to less then the
half, so by this his deed, the half, or no delations of guilty persons are give up to
the session, and so great sinnes are covered with silence, delinquents not pun¬
ished, and thereby the benefit that should maintayne the poor lost in great meas-
He upbraids his elders and deacons when they delate delinquents to our
session, except the delator will undertake to prove the guilt alledged, which hin¬
ders not a few delations of fornications and of worse and other faults that would
advance the poors’ [323] benefit, and the punishing of sin holds God’s judgment
off the land.
When elders are neglected in speiring19 their votes, and that they find that he
works partially and claps the head of the guilty, will somtimes be forced to let
him know it in publick, he will answere not beseeming his calling in that place:
‘for a farder satisfaction to you that speaks so, and punishment of them, goe yea
and kiss their tails.’
He will keep session dayes, that should be weekly kept, when he pleases and
when he pleases not, wherby discipline is greatly neglected and delinquents pass
away both by sea and land.
Moneys in great pertaining to the poor by him is [sic] taken away with
connivence yearly of that session which he keeps and makes of purpose for that
effect, and who dare not quarrell his unlawfull taking, beeing so bestowed by the
intention of the givers.
The patrimony and moneys of the kirk and poor is dilapidat and given out
by his direction to his acquantances and comerads who were and are not
responsall, and probably one part therof comes to his own use that way.
Moneys that were given by some of the congregation to the poor and deliv¬
ered to him are not yet redelivered to the parties, nor to the poor.
He commands these of the kirk session, at least some of them, not to give
him up delinquents wherby they may give satisfaction to the kirk after they are
certainly guilty.
He will receive no penitents, albeit offering themselvs in the body of the kirk
and by supplication to the session, having fulfilled all that was injoyned by the
kirk to them to doe.
19 enquiring.