pair the samen: And the said freedom, liberty, and privilege of the said water of Tay, as the said ancient infeftments of the said freedom, liberty, and privilege of the said water of Tay, whilk is only presently controverted and in question, and your Highness new and of late charter and new infeftment of the date foresaid, produced herewith, and repeated as a part of this claim, in themselves respective more fully purports, by virtue of the whilks the burgesses of the burgh of Perth, and their predecessors, are, and has been in possession of the saids liberties and freedoms, and of the freedom, liberty, and privilege of the water of Tay; nevertheless the saids provost, bailies, council, and community of the said burgh of Dundee, on their pretended manner, not only since the granting of the said ancient infeftments to the said burgh of Perth, burgesses and inhabitants thereof, but also since the purchasing of the said late new confirmation and infeftment of the date foresaid, to the manifest hurt and prejudice of the samen, and of the saids privileges and liberties granted to the said burgh of Perth of before, and of the said liberty, freedom, and privilege of the water of Tay, and of the said prohibition and exemption, has most wrongously, against their duties, purchast frae your Highness ane posterior infeftment to themselves, containing therein the liberty of ane part of the said water of Tay, disponed to the said burgh of Perth, burgesses and inhabitants thereof as said is, long of before.

Videlicet, frae the burne-mouth of Invergowrie at the west, the Gall of Barrie at the east, on the north side of the water of Tay, and frae the place where the Abbay of Balmirinoch was situated at the west, to the sands called Drumly Sands at the east, on the south side of the said water of Tay, with declaration and enumeration of certain particular parts and effects of the said liberty, within the saids bounds, and specially with power of loising and loading, and with power to stop others frae loising and loading, and T with

with power to uplift and receive all petty customs, anchor age, shore-silver, and other duties within the said bounds, amely, to uplift twelve pennies of ilk ton of tun-silver. Whilks particulars are in verie. deed and effect, the verie libertie of the water of Tay, and effects thereof, and where

the same libertie consists, tending thereby not only to make the saids burgesses and inhabitants of the said burgh of Perth, and our successors, thrallit and subject to ane perpetual servitude, whereof we are free, and frae the whilk we are fpecially exeemed by our said prior infeftment, preceding the said posterior infeftment granted to the said town of Dundee, but also by the samen servitudes and posterior infeftment, to take frae us the said freedom, liberty, and privilege of the said water of Tay, disponed to us of old, and by your Highness duly confirmed and disponed to us of new as said is, before the purchasing of the posterior infeftment granted to the said town of Dundee; albeit in verie deed we being priores titulo et potiores jure, no such posterior infeftment could have been lawfully granted to our prejudice, and to the prejudice of the said prior infeftment, having our right acquired long of before, clad with possession as said is, so that the said pretended posterior, without question, etiam in foro contradictorio, upon the ground of the said anterior and prior right granted of before would be reduced and retracted.

Therefore, beseeks your Majestie and Lordships, seeing all debateable matters betwixt us and the said town of Dundee are submitted amicablie, and that the principal occasion of the controversie that has risen amongst us, for the most part has proceeded upon the purchasing by the said town of Dundee, and their pretended posterior infeftment, that therefore it would please your Majestie and Lordships, by your sentence to find and declare, that we and our successors has, and shall have in all time coming, full and undoubted right to the hail freedoms, liberties, and privileges, as well contained in the said ancient infeftments, as in our

said new particular confirmation and infeftment of the particular date foresaid, with the benefit and commodity of the said prohibitions and exemptions specified therein, and namely, that we have the undoubted right of the said freedom, libertie, and privilege of the said water of Tay, with the prohibition and exemption, foresaid benefit and commoditie thereof, and that our new infeftments, both new and old, shall stand in all time coming valid and sufficient titles to us and our successors, to bruik and joyce the hail liberties and privileges therein contained, and namely, the liberty, freedom, and privilege of the said water of Tay, with the effects thereof, with the said prohibition and cxemption foresaid, benefites and commodities thereof; and therefore, in respect thereof, your Majestie and Lordships would find and decern, by your decreet, the said pretended posterior infeftment purchased by the said town of Dundee, to be reduced, retracted, rescinded, cassed, annulled, decerned, and declared to have been frae the beginning, to be now and all time coming, null and of none avail, force, nor effect, with all that has followed, or that may follow thereupon, at the least so far as we or our successors may any ways be impaired or prejudged in the bruiking of the said privileges, freedoms, and liberties, and specially of the said freedom, libertie, and privilege of the said water of Tay, with the prohibition and exemption foresaid, benefit and commoditie thereof, or our said old or new infeftments hurt or prejudized in any part or point, in respect that the same was acquired long of before, and that the inhabitants of the said town of Dundee, and their successors, shall desist and cease in all time coming frae all troubling and molesting of us thereanent, and frae all molesting, troubling, or stopping of us, or any others our or their goods or gear resorting to us frae the said town of Dundee, in passing or repassing frae us to the same. According to justice, sic subscribitur, Patricius Blair, Jacobus Adamson, Andreas Conqueror, as the said claim, which is subscribed with their hands, in itself purports.

For instructing of the whilk claim, the said commissioners produced also ane charter of confirmation under the great seal, made and granted by umquhile David, of worthy memorie, to the said burgesses and inhabitants of the said burgh of Perth, ratifying and confirming certain charters whereunto the samen makes relation, made before umquhile William and Robert, Kings of Scotland, of worthy memorie, upon the privileges and liberties granted to them and their said burgh, at length exprest in their said confirmation, as the same, dated at Perth the tenth day of April, and of the said King David his reign the thirtie-sixth year, in itself at length purports, with ane other charter made by Robert King of Scotland, ratifying and confirming ane charter made of before to the said burgesses, and in favour of their said burgh, by King Robert, containing certain privileges granted to them, and whilk letter is insert in the said confirmation, as the same confirmation whilk is under the great seal, at Edinburgh, the sixth day of and of his Highness's reign the tenth year, at mair length bears; together also with ane decreet and sentence given by the King's Majesty and Lords of secret council, at Holyroodhouse, the twentythird day of anno one thousand five hundred four score and sixteen years, proceeding upon letters raised at the instance of the provest, baylzies, council, and community of the burgh of Perth, against the provost, baylzies, council, and community of the burgh of Dundee, making relation in the narrative of the said decreet to ane letter and gift under his Highness's privy-seal; by the whilk, his Highness has disponed to the provost, baylzies, council, and community of the burgh of Dundee, the loist and exaction following privilege and freedom thereof, to be uplifted and received by them for the space of five years immediately following the date of the said gift, and that for the reparation of their pier, bulwark, shore, haven of Dundee ; that is to say, twa shilling off ilk tun of goods entring within the said haven and port of Dundee at their entry thereat,

twa

twa shilling for ilk tun ater o passing thereat, of merchant friends, unfriends, and strangers, and sicklyke of every tu fraught, twelve pennies at the entry, and alsmickle at the outpassing of the ships coming frae Norroway and other parts, loadned with timber, of ilk hundred jests one, of ilk hundred raucher one, f lk hundred corbells, wainscote deals one, and sicklyke of ilk sort of timber coming into the said haven and pt, or the avails and prices thereof, of ilk chalder of victual that shall be sold in the said port and haven, of the said merchants sixteen pennies, and for the sk pper and master eight pennis, and of all other goods which uses to be disponed by chalders. Whilk gift the said provost, baylzies, council, and community of the said burgh of Perth, desired his Majesty and Lords of secret council by their decreet declared to have been wrongously and will purchased, and therefore declared at least suspended, and to have no force against the burgh of Perth in time coming, for the reasons and causes mentioned in the said letters raised at their instance for that effect; by the whilk decreet, his Majesty and Lords of secret council ordained therefore the said privilege granted to the said bigging and reparations of the said pier, bulwark, shore, and haven of Dundee, to stand and to have full force and execution conform and during the space foresaid contained in the said letters made to the inhabitants of Dundee upon the same, and no further toist nor privilege of uptaking of toist or exaction of goods pertaining to the inhabitants of the said burgh of Perth, to be granted, or gift or letters to be past for that effect, at any time after the expiring of this present privilege, without their own consents had thereto; and that some person be appointed and have commission of the said provost, bayzies, council, and community of the burgh of Perth, to wait, remain, and see the said toist and exaction collected, and how the same is bestowed by the said provost, baylzies, and council of Dundee, whereof also they shall have an accompt to the Lords Auditors of the Exche