The qwhilk day, in presence of the haill Assemblie, the King’s Majestie having declarit his advyce anent the necessitie of Commissioners, to be appoyntit be the Generall Assemblie, to awayte and concurr with his Majestie for bringing to ane finall end, the langsome warke of the constant platt for planting of ministers at the burghes within this realme, in caice any of their places shall happen to vaick before the next Generall Assemblie, for awayting upon the Parliament, if any shall be, and craving the redress of such things qwherwith the ministers finds themselves grievit, and finally, for redressing of such enormities, and awayting upon such good occasiones as may fall out before the next Generall Assemblie; desyring, therefore, that the brethren wald consider the necessitie forsaid, and according to their discretione, qwhither if it were expedient that ane Commission sould be grantit to certaine of the maist wyse and discreit of the brethren for the causes forsaids: the qwhilk his Majestie’s advice the Assemblie thinks very necessar and expedient, and therefore hes given and grantit, lykeas, by the tenor heirof, gives and grants, their full power and commission to Messrs Peter Blackburne, James Nicolsone, Andrew Milne, Alex. Douglass, John Ramsay, Thomas Buchanane, David Fargusone, William Cranstoune, George Gladstones, Alexr. Lyndsay, Harie Livingstone, Robert Pont, David Lyndsay, Robert Rollock, John Hall, John Clappertoune, John Knox, Gavine Hamiltone, Andrew Knox, and his Majestie’s and the Prince’s ministers, or any nyne of them, to conveine with his Majestie, at such tyme and place as shall be found expedient; with power to them, or any nyne of them, to concurr with his Majestie, anent the setting downe and concluding of the solid grounds and fundaments of the constant platt, and qwhat securitie shall be made to the tacksmen for the remanent of their teinds; qwhilks grounds being sett downe be them, they shall make every Presbytrie within this realme privie to the same; and in caice the saids Presbytries, be their Commissioners or be themselves, after visitatione of the saids grounds and conclusiones, ratifie and approve the same, with power to the saids Commissioners, or any nyne of them, to conveine thereafter with his Majestie and the said Lords of his Privie Councill, having the power of the Parliament to that effect, and there to put ane finall end and conclusion to the constant platt, and solide planting of every particular Kirke within this realme; with power, also, to the saids Commissioners, or any nyne of them, to awayt upon the Parliament, if any shall be before the nixt Assemblie, and give in the grieves of the samyn, desyrand them to be redrest, and to give their advyce to his Majestie for avoyding or eschewing any danger or inconvenient qwhilk may be lyklie to fall out in prejudice of the Kirke; and lykewise, in caice his Majestie find him grievit, or crave redresse of any enormitie done to his Hienes be any of the ministrie, with power to them, or any nyne of them, to sit and cognosce upon the same, qwherein for better informatione of the cryme or fact qwhilk shall happen to be committit, they shall crave the advyce of the most discreit of the Presbytrie qwhere the persone offender dwells, as they shall think expedient, and thereafter proceed in taking tryall of the fact be themselves, and conclude therein as shall be most expedient to the glory of God, and the peace and quyetness of his Kirke within this realme: And, finallie, with expresse power and command to the saids Commissioners, to propone to his Majestie at their conventiones, the petitiones and grieves, alswell of this Assemblie in generall, as of every member thereof in particular, as shall be meint unto them, promitten de rata, &c.
Anent the forsaid Commission grantit for redress of such things as shall happen his Majestie to be offendit with in the persone of any of the ministrie: his Majestie declairit in presence of the haill Assemblie, that albeit the haill power of cognoscing upon such matters be devolvit in the persones of the Commissioners qwho should concurr with his Heines to that effect, nevertheless, his Majestie’s mynde is, no wayes to trouble the Commissioners with any such matters, unless first it be notoriously knawne, that the presbytrie, quhere the offender maks residence, both has gotten knowledge of the fact, and either has altogether neglectit the tryall thereof, or else not satisfy his Majestie with the punischment imponit to the offenders be them.
Sess. 11. 13 Martii.
Forsuameikle as the Commissioners of the Generall Assemblie, at the Parliament halden in December last bypast, upon ane earnest zeall quhilk they did alwayes bear to the will of the Kirk, had given in certaine article to the Lords of Parliament, concernying the liberty of the Kirk, and in speciall had cravit that the ministrie, as representing the trew Kirk of God within this realme, and so being the third estate of the realme, might have vote in Parliament according to the loveable acts and constitutions of before made in Parliament, in favours of the freedome and libertie of the Holy Kirk, qwhilks their travells and indeavours, proceeding alwayes upon ane godly intentione, they submittit to the censures of this present Assemblie, desyring the brethren to allow or disallow the same, as they should think most expedient, for the glory of God and establisching of the trew religione within this realme: Qwherupon the brethren being ryply advysit, allowit the honest and godly intentione of the Commissioners in craving vote in Parliament for the ministrey, as conforme and agrieing with sundrie uther Acts of the Assemblies proceeding, in the qwhilks it hes been found expedient that the Kirk sould sute vote in Parliament.
Forsuameikle as his Majestie is willing to utter his good intention that he hes alwayes borne to the establisching of the trew Kirk of God within this realme, declareit, that for the better performance thereof, his Hienes had assistit the Commissioners of the last Assemblie in craving vote in Parliament in name of the Kirk, qwhilk their sute, albeit in some part, and as it were, in a certain manner, granted be the Lords of Parliament, yet the acceptatione therof, the forme and haill circumstances of the persones were reservit to this Generall Assemblie, to be acceptit or refuisit as the Kirk should think expedient: And seeing his Majestie had anticipat the appoynted tyme of the Assemblie, and desyrit the brethren to conveine at this present tyme, especially for the causes forsaid; therefore his Majestie desyrit that the brether wold enter in a particular consideratione of the haill poynts of the said act in every particular poynt thereof, and first to reason in publick audience of the haill Assemblie, qwhither it was lawful and expedient, that the ministrie, as representing undoubtedly the Kirk within this realme, should have vote in Parliament or not?
The said question being at lenth reasoned and debaitit in utramque partem, in presence of the haill brethrene, and therafter votit, The Generall Assemblie votes, finds, and concludes, that it is necessar and expedient for the well of the Kirk, that the Ministry, as third Estate of this realme, in name of the Kirk, have vote in Parliament.
Sess. 12. Martii 14.
Concerning the number of the ministry that should have vote in Parliament in name of the Kirk, it was lykewise concludit and thought expedient, that alse many of them sould be chosen for the vote in Parliament as was wont of old, in the tyme of the Papisticall Kirk, to be Bischops, Abbots, and Priors, that had the lyke libertie, viz. to the number of fyftie and ane, or thereby.
Item, After reasoning, it was votit and concludit that the election of such of the ministrie as should have vote in Parliament aucht to be of ane mixt qualitie, and appertayne pairtly to his Majestie, and pairtly to the Kirk; and because, throw shortness of tyme, the brethren could not be perfectly resolvit in the remanent heads and circumstances concernyng the office of him that should have vote in Parliament, viz. de modo eligendi, of his rent, of the continuance of his office, qwhither he should be chosen ad pœnam or not, of his name, of the cautiones for the preservation of him from corruptione, and such uther circumstances; Therefore, the Assemblie ordaynes every Presbytrie to be ryply and throwghly advysit with the particular heads above written, and thereafter to convocat their Synodall Assemblies through the haill countrey upon ane day, qwhilk shall be the first Tuesday of Junii nixt to come, and there, after new reasoning and advysement with the particular heads above written, that every Synodall choose out three of the wysest of their number, qwho shall be ready upon his Majestie’s advertisement, qwhilk shall be upon ane moneth’s warning at the leist, to convein with his Majestie, together with Doctors of the Universities, viz. Mrs Andrew Melvill, John Johnstone, Robert Rollock, Patrick Chaip, Robert Harvie, Robert Wilkie, and James Martine, such day and place as his Majestie shall think expedient; with power to them to treat and reasone and conferre upon the saids heads and uthers appertayning therto, and in caice of agreement and uniformitie of opinions, to vote and conclude the haill questione concernyng vote in Parliament; utherwayes, in caice of discrepance and variance, to referr the conclusione thereof to the nixt Generall Assemblie.
For better observing of the Presbytries, It is statute and ordaynit, that every Presbytrie shall assemble themselves ance orderly, ilk week in their full number, at the leist so many of them as hes their residence within aucht myles to the place of the ordinarie conventione of the Presbytrie: That every member of the Presbytrie study the text qwherupon the exercise is to be made: That ane common head of religion be intreatit every moneth in ilk Presbytrie, both by way of discourse and disputatione: That every pastor have ane weekly exercise of instructione and examinatione of ane pairt of his congregatione in the Catechisme; Qwhilk haill heads are ordained to be observed under the paine of incurring the censures of the Kirk.