Forasmuch, as by many renewed Acts of Parliament, and former Proclamations, with advice of Our Privy Council; We have manifested Our Religious and Princely care and zeal for the interests of the Protestant Reformed Religion, and of the Church: And considering, how much it imports the glory of Almighty GOD, as well as the interest and service of Our Crown, that all due Obedience be payed to such Laws, as provide for the securing of the same, by Unity in Wor­ship, and by procuring of all due Reverence to Our Arch-Bishops and Bishops, and the other sub-ordinat Officers of the Church: And withall, the sad and sensible decayes Religion hath of late suffered, and the great and dangerous increase of Profannesse through the most unreasonable and Schismatical separation of many, from the publick and established Worship, and the frequent and open Conventicles both in houses and fields, by such as thereby discover their disaffection to the established Religion, and their undutieful aversion to Our Authority and Go­vernment, whereby the Peace of the Kingdom is endangered, and the Church divided, and under pretence of Scruple, Faction advanced. And We, having cause to apprehend, that these insolent Disorders, have flowed from their abusing of Our Royal Clemency and Indulgence, and from the flow, remiss and unsteddy execution of Our good and wholesome Laws; And being desirous, that all Our good Subjects may take notice, how serious and resolute We are to assert and maintain the true Religion, and the Unity and established Order of the Church, Do, with advice of Our Privy Council, require, and command all Our Officers, and others intrusted for that effect, to put the Laws and Proclamations relating to the Church, to due and vigo­rous execution, both against Papists, and all other Schismatical Dissenters and Disturbers of the Peace thereof. And further, We do particularly re­quire the Magistrates of the several Burghs to seize upon any Persons that are, or, hereafter shall be intercommoned and remove out of their seve­ral Towns and Jurisdictions, the Families of such as are intercommoned, or declared Fugitives or Rebells; and all such Preachers, as with their Fami­lies do not attend the Publick VVorship, and that betwixt and the first day of June next: And We do require all Noblemen, Gentle­men, and all other Subjects without Burgh, and all Magistrats, and other persons within Burgh, That they do not Intercommon, Harbour, nor Relieve any of the Persons, who are, or shall be Intercommoned, under the pains due to Intercommoners by Law. And declare, that if any person shall discover any Heritor, Life-renter, or other Person without Burgh, or any Magistrate, or other Inhabitants within Burgh; who shall Intercommon, Har­bour, or Relieve any so Intercommoned, shall have for such discovery made, the sum of five hundred merks, instantly payed to them out of Our Thesaury. And whereas, by the seventeenth Act of the third Session of Our second Parliament, all Sheriffs, Stewarts, Lords of Re­galities, and Magistrates of Burghs, are obliged to give an account of their diligence, in putting the Acts relating to Conventicles, and Se­paration into due execution, to Our Privy Council yearly, on the first thursday of July, under the pain of five hundred merks for each years faylie: VVe declare, that We will call them to an account of their diligence, and punish their negligence accordingly. And further, We declare, That the Magistrats of all Royal Burghs, wherein any Conventicles shall be hereafter keeped, shall be fyned in the sum of five hundred merks for each Conventicle, and that by and attour any other fyne to be imposed by Our Privy Council upon them; For which by Act of Par­liament, they are to have relief from the persons present at the said Conventicle: and that five hundred merks shall be the least sum to be ex­acted from any Burgh for every Conventicle, and which shall be augmented on the Burghs more considerable: For which sum, they are to have no Relief, either from the Common good of the Towns, nor from the Persons found at these Conventicles. And whereas, by Our for­mer Proclamation of the date, the Eighth day of Apryle, one thousand six hundred and sixty nine, all Heritors in whose Lands any Conventicles are keeped, are lyeable to the Fynes, Pains, and Penalties therein contained: We hereby declare, that in like-manner, these He­ritors of Houses, within Burghs of Royalty, Regality, or Barrony, in whose Houses any Conventicle shall be keeped after the first day of June next, shall be fyned in a whole years Rent of the said Tenement, where the Conventicle shall be keeped, and whereof the Land-lord shall have no relief from the Tennent, or Possessor, and this, toties, quoties, for every Conventicle keeped therein. And fur­ther, for preventing of all disorderly Marriages and Baptisms, We do hereby declare, That We will take care that the thirty fourth Act of the first Session of Our first Parliament, and the sixth Act of the second Session of Our second Parliament, be put into due execution against the contraveeners thereof. And, for the incouragement of those who shall delate or inform, a proportionable part of the Fynes of these who shall be found guilty, shall be granted and allowed to them for their service therein. And whereas, by the fourth Act of the second Session of Our first Parliament, It is Statute, that none be allowed to teach any Schools, or be Pedagogues to Children of Persons of Quality, or Chaplains in any Family, without a Licence from the respective Ordinaries, We, do hereby Require and Command, that none hereafter intertain any School-master, Pedagogue or Chaplain, or person for performance of Family VVorship, who have no such Licence under the hands of the respective Bishops: And that under the penaltie of three thousand merks to be exacted from each Nobleman, and twelve hundred merks from each Gentleman, and six hundred merks from a Burges, or any other Subject, toties, quoties, as they shall be found guilty herein. And that Our Royal pleasure in the premises may be made publick and known, OUR WILL IS, and VVe charge you straitly and command, that incontinent thir Our Letters seen, ye passe, to the Mercat Crosse of Edinburgh, and remanent Head-Burghs of the Shires of this Kingdom, and other places needful; and thereat, in Our Name and Authority, by open Proclamation, make publication of Our Royal peasure in the premisses, That all Our Subjects may have due and timous notice thereof, and give Obedience thereto, according to Justice, as ye will answer to Us thereupon. The which to do VVe commit to you, conjunctly and severally, Our full power by thir Our Letters, delivering them be you duely execute, and indorsat again to the bearer.