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Scottish Court of Session Decisions >>
Francis Molison, Merchant in Brechin, Supplicant. [1707] Mor 10398 (18 March 1707)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/scot/cases/ScotCS/1707/Mor2510398-076.html Cite as:
[1707] Mor 10398
Subject_1 PERSONAL and TRANSMISSIBLE. Subject_2 SECT. III.
What Rights go to Assignees.
Francis Molison, Merchant in Brechin, Supplicant
Date: 18 March 1707 Case No. No 76.
The fees of a Commissioner to Parliament not arrestable as being alimentary.
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Francis Molison having represented to the Lords, by a bill, that Alexander Young, William Clark, and John Spence, Merchants in Brechin, had unwarrantably arrested, for some pretended debts, his commissioner-fees for the Town of Brechin; in so far as, seeing the person of any representative in Parliament cannot be attacked for debts during the sitting thereof, neither can the fees destined for defraying the commissioner's charges be affected by arrestment or diligence; these fees being in effect aliment, like fees given by the Queen to her servants, which are not arrestable.
Answered for the arresters; That they know no positive law exeeming commissioners to the Parliament from personal execution; albeit by custom where Members of Parliament have been imprisoned upon legal diligence, the Parliament has sometimes given order for their liberation; and, unless the Parliament require their imprisoned Members to be set at liberty, they may be detained in custody; nor is there any law or custom privileging commissioner's fees against the diligence of creditors; these not being contained in the act of sederunt 1613, which exeems only pensions granted by the King, and the salaries of his Ministers of State and servants, and casus omissus habetur pro omisso.
The Lords found the arrestments unwarrantable, and ordained them to be loosed without caution or consignation.
