(Enclosure II.)

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III.

THE LORD JUSTICE-CLERK TO THE DUKE of Newcastle.1

My Lord Duke,

Edinburgh 14th July, 1746.

This Evening I had the Honour of your Grace's Letter of the 11th signifying his Majesty's Commands, that all such persons as are confined in any of the Prisons in Scotland on account of their having been taken in Arms, or of having personally joined those that were in Arms, should be forthwith sent under a sufficient Guard to Carlisle in order to take their Tryal, and that I should transmit to Mr Philip Carteret Web such Evidence as shall have been procured against them; taking particular care that the Witnesses that shall be sent to give evidence be able to prove that they had seen the prisoners do some Hostile Act, on the Part of the Rebels, or marching with the Rebel Army.

In my Letter of the 16th of May, I had the honour to acquaint your Grace of the orders I had then sent to the several Sheriffs and Magistrates of Burghs, pursuant to His Majesty's commands to me by your Grace's Letter of the 12th of May, to transmit to me Lists of the Prisoners for Treason in their several Goals, with an account of the Evidences and proofs that can be brought against them; such lists have been sent me by the greatest part of the Sheriffs, but as they were Bulky and the Evidence very perplext and imperfect, against many no evidence at all, against others none but the prisoners own Confessions when examined, and others had not been in Arms or joined personally with the Rebel Army, Therefore that I might be the sooner able to obey your Grace's Commands of the 3rd Instant of sending to your Grace exact Lists of all such prisoners as were taken in Arms, I put these Lists sent me into the hands of his Majesty's Solicitors, with orders to make up from the whole such a list as your Grace desired of, which I had the honour to acquaint your Grace on this 10th. The Solicitors have not yet quite finished that task, but it will be finished very soon, and then there will be no difficulty. that I can forsee in sending the prisoners to Carlisle.

1S. P. Scotland, Geo. II. Bundle 33. No. 46.

But with respect to the manner of my sending up the witnesses, there is a difficulty, and which I mentioned to your Grace in my Letter of March the 27th, The Witnesses are very numerous, and I dare say few of them will be willing to make a journey to Carlisle to give Evidence against the Prisoners, and I doubt if I have authority to take all these witnesses into custody, and to send them likewise Prisoners to Carlisle, and yet without some such compulseture I easyly forsee that the proof must be exceeding defective; it is indeed very probable that my doubt is chiefly owing to my being so little acquainted with the methods of proceedings in England in trials for High Treason, and if that is the case, I hope your Grace will not only have the goodness to forgive me, but also to set me right. But if the difficulty in Law is truly such as I apprehend it, in that case I must leave it to your Grace to find out the proper remedy, and in the mean time how soon the Solicitors shall have finished the Lists, I shall send orders to the Sheriffs and Magistrates to send the Prisoners hither with such Witnesses as are willing, and give the best directions I can think of for perswadeing those who are unwilling, without transgressing what I apprehend to be the law.

I had the honour to transmit to your Grace Copys of the Reports I had from the Sheriff of Aberdeen and Kincairden, which were the exactest I received,

I have reason to think that Sr Everard Fawkener is collecting what Evidence he can, tho' I do not know if it is yet finished. I sent him this night a copy of your Grace's Letter and he will be able to judge, as well as I can do, both what prisoners and what witnesses ought to be sent, and possibly there may be the same difficulty there that I have here to send those witnesses that are not willing to go, and even here perhaps the difficulty would not be so great if the same remedy were at hand.

I have the honour to be with the utmost respect

My Lord Duke

Your Grace's most obedient and most humble Servant,

AND. FLETCHER.

P.S.-I delayed sending this Letter till I could consult with Ld President and others of my bretheren here about the difficulty in send

ing ye Witnesses, but thereby my difficultys instead of being removed are increased.

Duke of Newcastle.

Endorsed :-Rd. 19. by Express.

IV.

THE LORD JUSTICE-CLERK TO THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE,1

My Lord Duke,

Edr 15 July 1746.

The Vessel which carried the Rebels to Bergen is returned and seized with Weymss the Master by the Officer commanding at Stonehaven; a Sailor who landed at Arbroth is seized with 13 Letters which are sent to his Royal Highness the Duke.2

I have this moment accounts from Luss [?] that all the McGregors have agreed to surrender at the Kings mercy, of which I have given notice to Brigr General Mordaunt who commands at Perth.

I have the honour to be with the utmost respect,

My Ld Duke

Your Grace's most obedient and most humble Servant

AND. FLETCHER.

Lovat I hear is to be at Sterling ye 19th on his way to ye Tower.

Duke of Newcastle.

Endorsed :-Rd. 19th by Express.

1 S. P. Scotland, Geo. II. Bundle 33. No. 47.

2 About the beginning of May thirteen Jacobites, among whom were said to be Lord Ogilvy and David Graham of Duntroon, boarded Captain James Wemyss's ship in the Tay and were carried to Bergen. They sent letters from thence to Scotland by the ship on its return voyage. Wemyss and his crew were committed to gaol. Cf. Scots Magazine, vol. viii., pp. 240, 340.

V.

THE LORD JUSTICE-CLERK TO THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE,1

My Lord Duke,

Edinburgh, 26 July 1746.

I can now at last send your Grace some account of Rebel Prisoners in the several Goals in this Country that are to be sent to Carlyle, pursuant to his Majesty's Commands, which I had the honour to receive by your Grace's letter of the 11th current. The number of the whole is 126 persons, whereof there are 34 that were either considered here as in the rank of Gentlemen, or were employed as officers. in the Rebel Army, and of these I have enclosed a list of their names and designations and commissions or offices in the Rebel Army. The other 92 are Private men, and I did not think it worth the troubling your Grace with a List or Roll of their names. The Judge Advocate, Mr Bruce, has not yet quite finished the examination that he has for some time been employed in by Sr Everard Fawkener, but he is expected soon here, and it is possible that when he arrives I may be able to add to the List more Rebels against whom he has got evidence. But in the meantime I have sent orders to Aberdeen, to send under a Guard to this place the prisoners in that Goal against whom there seems to be sufficient evidence, because that is the most distant place from which I have got any account of the prisoners and the evidence against them, and they were to set out from thence as yesterday. The List of Witnesses that prove against these 126 prisoners consists of no less than 134, and I want your Grace's answer to my Letter of the 14th, which I hope will bring me your Grace's directions in what manner they can be sent; it is not impossible but upon a review of the evidence the number of the witnesses may be a little diminished, where 4 or 5 witnesses prove against the same person, and yet I am perswaded that very few of that number can be spared, because even in that case, the whole are for the most part necessary against some other of the prisoners.

I imagine it will also be useful for the Crowns Lawyers in manage

1S. P. Scotland, Geo. II. Bundle 33. No. 55.