WILLIAM and MARY, by the Grace of God, King and Queen of Great Brittain, France, and Ireland, Defenders of the Faith, To [...] Macers of Our Privy Council, Messengers at Arms, Our Sheriffs in that Part, Conjunctly and Severally, spe­cially Constitute, Greeting; FOR AS MUCH AS, in Prosecution of the seventh Act of the fourth Session of this Our current Parliament, cheerfully offering to Us, a present Levy of two thousand nine hundred and seventy nine Foot, to be Levyed off the several Shires and Burghs of this Kingdom, effeiring to the Proportions and Numbers set down in the foresaid Act. The Lords of Our Privy Council, conform to the Power given to them in the foresaid Act of Parli­ament, by their Instructions to the Commissioners of Supply within the several Shires of this Kingdom, of the Date the eighth day of February last by past: appointed the saids Commissioners furthwith, to make exact Lists of the Heretors and Lands lyable in the said Levy, that so it might be perfectly known who were lyable. And in case any men were to be put out by Fractions, and that they could not agree who should furnish the body of the man, the saids Commissioners should order the Fractions to meet at a certain day and place, and there determine it by an equal Lot, effeiring to their respective Numbers of Men, or the quantities of their respective Valuations, as the use was in every Shire; so that every Lotter was to have as many Lots, as he had Numbers of Men, or quantities of valued Rent sufficient for the Outreik of a man: And in case any of the saids Fractions should not meet, or should refuse to Lot, the saids Commissioners were authorized to appoint such as they should think fit, to meet and Lot for them. And in case the person upon whom the Lot fell to put out a man for himself and his Fraction, should fail in furnishing the man, or should furnish an insufficient man; then the Tennents and Possessors of the Lands and Ground belonging to the saids persons who should have put out the man, should be lyable; and the person upon whom the Lot did fall, and who failȝied to put out the man in manner foresaid, should be decerned in the Sum of two hundred Merks. To which Act of Parliament and Instructions foresaid, We expected punctual and exact Complyance and Obedience. Yet, not only a great many outreicked and furnished to serve as Souldiers in the said new Levy, are rejected and sent home as Insufficient; but likewise, many lyable to outreick and furnish men for the said Levy, are deficient and altogether wanting, in sending out the Numbers of men wherein they are lyable, conform to the said Act of Parliament and Instructions foresaids, and thereby have Incurred the Penalties contained in the saids Instructions, by and attour their being ly­able for the persons of the men whom they were to have outreiked, conform to the said Act of Parliament and Instructions. Therefore, and for the more effectual providing the said men, and compleating the number of Souldiers offered to Us by the foresaid Act of Parliament, and exacting the Penalties Constitute in the foresaids Instructions; We, with Advice of the Lords of Our Privy Council, peremptorly Require and Command the Sheriff, of the several Shires, and their Deputs, Stewarts of Sewartries, Baillies of Regalities, and their respective Deputs, and Magistrats of Burghs Royal, within this Our antient Kingdom, as they wil be answerable, each of them within their own respective Jurisdicti­ons, presently upon sight hereof, to call for a List of the deficient men within their respective Bounds, and of the Persons who should have put out the same and upon recept thereof, where no Lotting hath been made for Fractions, that he immediatly cast Lots amongst the saids Fracti­ons, who shall put out the man one or more, and then shall pass to the Ground of his Lands upon whom the Lot shall happen to fall, and there immedialy pitch upon, take and apprehend a sufficient man out of his said men, able to serve Us as a Souldier, and commit them Prisoners to the Prison of the head Burgh of the Shire, there to be keeped at four shillig Scots per diem, upon the Expenses of the Officer who is to receive him upon advertisement from the Sheriff, or other Judge foresaid who causes apprehend and commit him to the said Prison: and which Allowance is to be refounded to the said Officer, by the Pay of the said Souldier, which is to be allowed to him for the said person, from the day of his being committed, as if he had been Listed and Inrolled as a Souldier in Our Service; and in like manner, shall apprehend sufficient men upon the Ground of the Lands of these who are deficient, according to the numbers they have not put out, and are lyable to, whether by the Rule of the Militia spe­cified in the Act of Parliament, or other ways; and deliver them to the next Commanding Officers, in manner, and to the end above mentioned: and likewise, that they cause exact the Penallies mentioned in the saids Instructions, from all who have incurred the same, by and attour the ap­prehending and delivering the man, in manner foresaid. OUR WILL IS HEREFORE, and We Charge you strictly, and Command, that in continent these Our Letters seen, ye pass to the Mercat-Cross of Edinburgh, and to the Mercat-Crosses of the Remanent Burghs of the whole Shires of this Kingdom, and there in Our Name and Authority, make publick Intimation of the Premisses, that none may pretend Igno­rance.