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HONI SOIT QVI MAL Y PENSE   royal blazon or coat of arms  
A PROCLAMATION For securing the Peace of the Shire of CAITHNESS.  
CHARLES by the Grace of God, King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith; To Macers, or Messengers at Arms, Our Sheriffs in that part, conjunctly, and severally, specially constitute, Greeting;  
Forasmuch as notwithstanding by Our Laws and Acts of Parliament, the convocating of Our lieges without Our special, Authority and Warrant therefore, be expressly discharged; Yet We are informed, that certain broken, and lawless Men, within Our Shir● of Caithness, have from time to time convocate themselves in Arms within the said Shire and have most unwarrantably, first besieged, and then thrown down, the Houses belonging to the Earl of Caithness, and continueth still to exact upon, and oppress his Tenant's taking away the Corns out of his Girnels, exacting sums of Money, and free Quarter, t● the great contempt of Our Authority. And We being resolved to protect all such as 〈◊〉 peaceably under Us, and in Obedience to our Laws; Have therefore with Advice of Our Privy Council, thought fit to Declare and Testify Our Abhorrence of all such atrocious Crimes of Oppression, and Illegal Procedure; and that We will with all speed and rigour punish all such as shall be found to have had any accession to the same, before our ordinar Judicatures. But least in the mean time, the Rents and Victual payable out of the said Earls Lands should be transported, so that reparation could not be had: We do therefore expressly discharge any Merchants, to buy, or any Skippers to transport the Victual growing upon any of the said Earls Lands, without his own, or his, Chamberlains Licence and consent, under the pain of the confiscation of the said Ship, wherein the said Victual shall be transported. Likeas, to prevent the transporting of the same, under the name and colour of Victual belonging to private Persons: We do hereby Declare, that any such Persons who shall lend their Name to such a Transportation, shall be liable to the said Earl, in the sum of Ten pounds' Scots, for every Boll so transported. And to the end the said Earl may have peaceable access to his own Estate in Caithness, We hereby discharge all Our Subjects, of what quality soever, to stop him, his Friends and Followers in their Journey, to and from Caithness; Commanding also hereby all such as have Ferry-Boats, to give him the ordinary and speedy Passage, and Our Subjects upon his Way, to provide him and them with Entertainment at the ordinary Rates of the Country, as they will be answerable: Commanding hereby all Our good Subjects to countenance and assist Our Heralds, Pursuivants, and Messengers at Arms, either for citing the Persons concerned in Our Name, or for executing Our Laws against them, and more especially in the publication hereof. And ordains these Presents to be Printed, and Published at the Mercat-cross of Edinburgh, Aberdene, Inuerness, Thurso, Caithness-weik, and other places needful, that all Persons concerned may have notice of the same.  
Given under Our Signet at Edinburgh, the fourth day of March, one thousand six hundred and eighty Years. And of Our Reign the thirty and two Year. Per actum Dominorum Secreti Concilii. A L. GIBSON, Cl. Sti. Concilii. 
 GOD save the King.   

Edinburgh, Printed by the Heir of Andrew Anderson, Printer to His most Sacred Majesty, Anno Dom. 1680.