REPLIES for the present Magistrates of the Burgh of Irving, to the Answers made to their Complaint, given into the Lord High-Commissioner his Grace, and the Estates of Parliament, against the late Magistrates of the said Burgh.  
THE Substance of the Complaint given in by the present Magistrates of the Town of Irving, against the late Magistrates; being sufficiently repeated in the Answers Printed by these late Magistrates, their own Defence. It's evident, that the complaint of the present Magistrates proceeds upon four most just grounds, viz. 1st. That Gift procured by these late Magistrates, of two Marks per Boll of Malt Browen and Vented within the Burgh, was, and is now found by the Claim of Right, to have been an illegal Imposition.  
2. That it was procured by these late Magistats, who were in Effect no lawful Magistrates, but were imposed upon the Burgh, by Letters from King James, impetrat to themselves, contrary to the Liberties thereof.  
3. That the Gift was taken up from the Persons who were Agents for it, after the Burgh had by two several Acts, viz. One of the 23, and Another of the 27 of October 1688, a few days before the Prince of Orange's Landing, recalled the Money which was appointed to be paid for the said Gift, and had ordained it to be applied for better Uses; So that the Gift was not brought West to the Burgh, nor approven by its Counsel, before the thirteenth of November, after the Prince was certainly Arrived.  
And 4. That seeing the Gift itself was Illegal, the Procurers thereof, no Lawful Magistrates, but Men imposed by Arbitrary Letters, and the Money, the Price thereof, clearly recalled. The Burgh ought to be exonered of the Debt of 5000 Marks by them contracted, and the Debt declared to be their personal Debt, and not the Debt of the Burgh.  
Which grounds being in themselves clear and concludent, all that's Answered by the late Magistrates in their Printed Answers, is of little moment; and because it would prove tedious to resume all the idle Stories contained in their Print, the Heads thereof shall here be Noticed and Answered in their order. And first, they say, That they were not imposed upon the Town for Magistrates, by the late Arbitrary Power, because they had no accession to their own Nomination, and durst not refuse when Nominat, lest they had been reached by some of these Stretches that were ordinarily then made use of against those of that Country. To which it is Answered, That the design and manner of these Court-Nominations, are but too well known, and too plainly marked by the Declaration of the Estates, for men to offer such an Excuse, there being nothing more certain, than that in all Scotland, the men pitched upon, were such as did both officiously impetrat these Letters for themselves, and were also chosen by the Court, as the men most proper for their Designs: So that for these late Magistrates, who did impetrat the Letters in their own favours, as appears by their Precepts of Twenty Seven Pounds Sterling, drawn for to pay for them, and are also designed in them to be men most loyal and ready to promote the King's Service. To allege, either that they had no accession to their own Nomination, or that they were in hazard if they refused of the Stretches then ordinarily made use of against that Country, are equally Calumnious. But,  
2ly. As to the Gift itself, they say, they did, as other Towns had done, and were amongst the last that procured such Gifts, and that they procured this Gift for the good of the Town, and with the consent of Neighbours, and even of some of those that are now in the Magistracy. To which it is Answered, That whatever example these late Magistrates may pretend, it was undoubtedly in re illicita, where examples are of no force. And as to the alleged Consent of Neighbours, it is so great a Falsehood, that it's offered to be proven, that the Neighbours did both Dissent and Oppose, and actually Collected Money, and sent one to Edinburgh for that effect; but these pretended Magistrates were so earnest for this Imposition, that when they heard that the Neighbours had met, and had named one William Thomson to collect the Money, to bear the charge of their opposing the Gift, Robert Wallace one of the then Bailies committed him to Prison; nor is there any more truth in what they affirm of some of the present Magistrates, as Approures of their course.  
3. They say, that it appears by the Date of the Gift, that it was procured long before His Majesty came to Britain: But it's Answered, That whatever may be the date of the Gift, yet it is evident, from the Town Councils Acts, that upon the 27th of October 1688, they heard nothing of its being procured, but recalled their Money that should have been given for the Price of it; Which Order, they were in pessima fidae after that day to alter, especially since His Majesty's Declaration was then Printed and Published, wherein he complains, both of the undue imposing of Magistrates upon burgh's, and of the giving of Gifts of Money without Act of Parliament: But the most probable Account of the matter seems to be, that the Gift was indeed procured at Court before, but the Price not fully agreed, and that so it stood, till His Majesty was arrived in England: And then the Gift being nothing worth, a simulat Purchase was the more easily made, and the Burgh cheated of its Money, which by an Act only three Weeks before they had recalled, and applied to better Uses.  
4. They say, that these late Magistrates, were truly Magistrates according to the fashion of the time, and what they did, they did for the good of the Burgh, and that they changed their Orders the 23, and 27 of October, for recalling of the Money; Because, when these that were sent, came to Edinburgh, they found the Gift was lying there waiting for them, and so they were obliged to take it, and pay for it, according to the former Agreement.  
To which it's Answered, 1. What Magistrates the late Magistrates were, hath been already shown. 2. To bring an Imposition upon the Inhabibitants of the Burgh against their mind, and to their manifest Oppression, can never be judged for the good of the Burgh. But 3. What plainer Discovery can be made, of the indirect dealing that hath been in this matter, than what is here acknowledged, viz. That the Town knew not of the procuring of the Gift upon the 27 of October, when His Majesty's Declaration was abroad, and the News of his Arrival every hour expected, and that yet thereafter, the Men sent to bring back the Towns Money, should have been so simple, as to give away the Money against the Towns Orders, for a Gift that no man at that time did value worth a Groat.  
But the truth is, That these Magistrates having come in by the late King James' Letter, without the  or Consent of the Burgh, did from the beginning, design only their own Advantage; and therefore against the mind of the Neighbours resolved to borrow Money, and no less than 5000 Marks, to purchase an Imposition, whereof they hoped to get the Management; and this Design they pursued, until the appearance of the Prince of Orange quite spoiled their Hope, and then indeed they recalled their Money from Edinburgh, but yet with an unreasonable allowance of 500 Marks to Robert Wallace one of their Bailies, for the bare pretence of the Expenses he had been at; and further, not herewith Content, afterwards when they they found the Gift was come that they had lost hope of, and when they knew it to be of no value, they have the confidence to pretend, that they gave the Money for it, without regard to their own Act of Council, which then stood, and still stands unrepelled.  
By all which it is evident, that the Burgh ought to be declared free of the said's Bonds given for the Money to be paid for the said Gift, and that the Magistrates who pretends to have given the same, qua tales & ratione officii, should be declared to be personally liable therefore, seeing it were an imbazleing without parallel, that men who were indeed no Magistrates should be allowed to bring Burden upon a Burgh for a mere Sham-Gift, which they had never any ground to seek, and were most free to have refused, as wholly useless and unprofitable to the Burgh, and the Creditors who contracted with them, were neither ignorant that they were but imposed Magistrates, nor could they but know the end and use for which the Money was borrowed.  
And to make it further Evident, how little Reason there is, that the Town be liable for this Debt of 5000 Marks, needlessly contracted, and foolishly imbazled by these imposed Magistrates. It's offered to be proven, That it was the ancient Custom of the said Burgh of Irving, that no Debt could be Lawfully Contracted by their Magistrates, to burden the Burgh, unless the Neighbourhood had been called, and the consent of the Community obtained to it, which Custom was so constant, that the same was also observed in the discharging of their Thesauries Accounts. And as to this very particular, it may be instanced in the Town of Dumfreis, how the Provost thereof for the time, (though a Papist,) when he had the like Gift for his Burgh in his offer, yet he first called the Community, and because they Dissented, would meddle no further with it. By all which its manifest, that the foresaids Magistrates ought to be personally liable to these Creditors from whom they borrowed the Money, and that the Burgh and Community thereof, aught to be exonoured of the same for ever.