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Scottish Court of Session Decisions >>
The Earl of Lauderdale, Supplicant. [1750] Mor 7659 (9 June 1750)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/scot/cases/ScotCS/1750/Mor1807659-365.html Cite as:
[1750] Mor 7659
Heritors holding of the Prince of Scotland, are to be served heirs to their predecessors on brieves out of the chancery, directed to the Sheriff of the shire where the lands Iy, the Prince's regality and chancery being now taken away.
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The Earl of Lauderdale shewed in a petition, that he held part of his estate of Hatton off the Prince, the same lying locally wifhin the shire of Edinburgh, and by annexation within the shire of Renfrew; that he was in doubt how to make up his titles to the said lands, as heir to his predecessors, as by an act 20th Geo. II. for taking away heritable jurisdictions, it was enacted, “That all regalities belonging unto, or possessed, or claimed by any subject or subjects within that part of Great Brisain called Scotland, and all jurisdictions, powers, authorities, and privileges thereunto appurtenant, or annexed, or dependent thereupon, should be, and they were thereby, from and after the 25th day of March, in the year of our Lord 1748, abrogated, taken away, and totally dissolved and extinguished.” And by another clause, “That from and after the said day, all and every act, statute, charter, or grant, whatsoever, whereby any lands lying anciently within one shire in Scotland, were dis-united from the same, and annexed to another shire, to which such lands were not adjacent or contiguous, should be repealed, and made void, with respect only to the jurisdiction of the sheriff's or stewart's courts; and the lands so disunited or annexed, should, with respect to such jurisdiction only, be, and they were thereby restored to the shire or shires within which such lands did locally lie.” By this act, the Prince's regality, and consequently his chancery, was taken away, so that the petitioner could not be served on brieves issuing therefrom, but behoved to have recourse to the King's chancery; and as it might be doubted whether these lands were annexed to the shire of Edinburgh, for the purpose of the said sheriff's granting infeftment, he prayed the Lords to grant warrant to the directors of the King's chancery for issuing brieves, and upon their being retoured, to issue his precept for infeftment to the sheriff of Edinburgh, or to grant other directions according to law.
This petition, which was presented in the end of the winter session, appearing of importance, was ordained to lie over to this day; and, being then moved, it was said for the petitioner, That it did not appear the Prince ever had a chancery, but the method in practice had been, to obtain brieves out of the King's: That the charters of the lands bore them to be annexed to the shire of Renfrew; and that there were among the petitioner's writings, two precepts for infefting his predecessors, at a time when there was no Prince, directed to the sheriff of Edinburgh.
The Lords found, “That brieves ought to be obtained out of the King's chancery, directed to the sheriff of Edinburgh, for serving the petitioner heir to his predecessor.”
The Lords gave the above interlocutor, as they had the direction of the chancery; but gave no directions in what manner the petitioner ought to be infeft; though, from their reasoning, their opinion appeared to be, that a precept behoved to be obtained from the Prince's commissioners, which might be directed to any person whatever.
Per H. Home.
Fol. Dic. v. 3. p. 360. Falconer, v. 2. No 135. p. 153.
