C R  HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE  royal blazon or coat of arms  
A PROCLAMATION, Against the Resetting of Tenants, or Servants without Testificats.  
CHA●LES, by the Grace of GOD, King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith; To Our Lion King at Arms, his Brethret Heralds, Macers of Council, Pursuivants, or Messengers of Arms, Our Sheriffs in that part, conjunctly and severally, specially constitute, Greeting;  
Forasmuch, as We have for the preservation of the Protestant Religion, as it is now established by the Laws of thi● Our ancient Kingdom, taken care that all unlawful Meetings, upon pretence of Religion, may be restrained, by which many of the Commons of that Our Kingdom, have been for several years withdrawn from their Paroch Churches, and been thereby deprived of the appointed means for their establishment in the true Fear of God, and the Duty they owe to Us, and Our Government, and have b●●n seduced to keep seditious Field Conventicles in a tumultuous way, and other Disorderly Meetings, where they may and do actually hear, declared Tr●●●ours, Intercommuned and Vagrant Preachers, and any who without licence or authority, do impiously assume the holy Orders of the Church, and ●ake it their business to diffuse amongst the unwarry and credulous multitude seditious and false doctrines, and pernicious principles, which are destructiv●●o all Order and Constitution of Societies, by which these who frequent those Meetings, are observed to be corrupted and poisoned with an open and obstinate contempt of all authority Civil or Ecclesiastic, and to be led into most irregular practices, which are inconsistent with all Order and Government, ●●d are not to be allowed in any Protestant or Christian Church: For remeding of which growing evils, and vindicating Our Authority and Laws fr●● such gross violations and affronts, We have commanded a Band to be subscribed, whereby Heretors, Liferenters, and Masters are obliged for their tenants, Servants, and others living upon their Lands, and they for themselves, for obeying such Laws as may secure against schism and separation; and ●ast the same be eluded, and the Heretors, Liferenters; and Masters prejudged by the Tenants, Servants, and others foresaids, deserting such as t●e the said Band, ●or lest the said's Tenants Servants or others, may be encouraged not to take the same upon expectation that after they are removed by their Masters, or run away from their Masters, for not taking the Band or for going to Conventicles, 〈◊〉 withdrawing from public Ordinances, or upon any other account provided against by the Master's Band, they may or will be sheltered brothers: We therefore, with advice of the Lords of Our Privy Council, do hereby Require and Command, That no Tenants, Servants, or others ●●oresaids whatsomever within this Kingdom, be resett upon another man's ground or in his service, without a Testificate from the Heretor, Master, or fr●● the Minister of the Paroch where they live, that they have lived orderly, in manner foresaid, Declaring hereby, That whatsoever Heretors, Lif●●enters, or Master●, shall receive any such Tenants, or Servants, or others foresaids, without such a Testificate, they shall be liable to such Fines as Our Privy Council shall think fit to inflict suitable to their Gild, both for repairing the Damage done to the Heretor, Liferenter, or Master, and for punishing their Contempt of this Our Proclamation: And to the effect, Our pleasure in the premises may be made known to all persons concerned: OUR WILL i● herefore, and we charge you strictly and command, That incontinent these Our Letters seen, ye pass to the Mercat Cross of Edinbur●●, and other places needful, and thereat, in Our Name and Authority, by open Proclamation, with all Solemnities requisite, make Publication of the Premises, that none of Our Liege's may pretend ignorance thereof. And Ordains these presents, and the Band, and Act of Council underwritten, to be printed, and subjoined hereunto: The which to do, We commit to you conjunctly and severally, Our full power by these Our Letters, delivering them by you duly execute and endorsed again to the Bearer.  
Given under Our Signet at Edinburgh, the eleventh day of February, 1678. and of Our Reign, the thirtieth Year. Per Actum Dominorum Secreti Concilii. Al. Gibsone, Cls. Sti. Concilii. 
 GOD save the KING.   

Followeth the Tenor of the Band mentioned in the foresaid Proclamation.  
I under subscribing, do faithfully bind and oblige me, that I, my Wife, Bairns, and Servants, respectively, shall no ways be present at any Conventicles, and disorderly Meetings in time coming, but shall live orderly in obedience to the Law, under the Penalties contained in the Acts of Parliament made thereanent, As also, I bind and oblige me, that my whole Tenants and Cottars respectively their Wives, Bairs, and Servants, shall likewise refrain and abstain from the said's Conventicles and other illegal Meetings, not authorized by the Law, and that they shall live orderly in obedience to the Law; And further, tha● I nor they shall not resett, supply, or commune with forfeited persons, intercommuned Ministers, or vagrant Preachers, but shall do our outmost endeavour to apprehend their persons: And in case my said's Tenants, Cottars, and their foresaids shall contraveen, I shall take and apprehend any person or persons guilty thereof, and present them to the Judge ordinar, that they may be fined or imprisoned therefore, as is provided in the Acts of Parliament made thereanent; otherways I ●h●l remove them and their families from off my ground, and if I shall failyie herein, I shall be liable to such penalties as the saids Delinquents have incurred by the law: Consenting to the Registration hereof in the Books of His Majesty's Privy Council, or Books of any other Judges competent, That Letters and executorials may be direct hereupon in form as effeirs, And constitutes my Procurators.   

Edinburgh, the eleventh day of February, 1678.  
THE Lords of his Majesty's Privy Council do declare, that the Heretors, Liferenters and Masters, Who have subscribed, or shall hereafter subscribe the Band above written: Obliging them for their Tenants, and others therein specified, shall be only liable for the penalties by the delinquencies of their Tenants, and others foresaids, in case the Tenants, and others for whom they are bound shall be pursued and convict within year and day after the committing of the Delinquencies without prejudice to pursue the Tenants, or others foresaids, themselves at any time thereafter as accords: Extracted by me,  
Al. Gibsone, Cls. Sti. Concilii.   

EDINBURGH, Printed by the Heir of Andrew Anderson, Printed to the King's most Sacred Majesty. 1678.