A personal action is competent to the superior for payment of feu-duties, not only against the original feuer and his representative, but also against singular successors.
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Mr Archibald being pensioner to the King of a duty, to be taken out of the feu-duties of the lands of Ferne, disponed in feu by the King to the Laird of Balnagown, and which feu-duties were assigned to him for payment of the said pension, and the Laird of Balnagown having given sub-feus to his sub-vassals, for payment of certain feu-duties to him, and these feu-duties payable to him by his sub-vassals being disponed again to the Lady, and she being charged by the pensioner to pay the feu-duties, wherein the principal feuer was addebted by his infeftment to the King, seeing the said principal feuer was irresponsable; she suspending, that she was not obliged therein, but the principal feuer; and that she could not be personally charged; the Lords found, that seeing she had right to the duties payable by the sub-vassals to the principal feuer, that the King as superior, and his pensioner, who had the King's right, might personally charge her to pay the said feu-duties, addebted by her author to the King; and that he needed not be casten off, to poind the ground therefor, seeing he might either poind or charge her personally as intromitter therefor, as he pleased.
Act. Mowat.Alt. ——Clerk, Scot.
Fol. Dic. v. 1. p. 296. Durie, p. 532.*** Spottiswood reports the same case:
The King having feued the half land of the barony of Gaynes, by virtue of the act of annexation (it being holden of the Abbay of Ferne) to the Laird of Balnagowan, he set sub-feus thereof to be holden of himself, to others. The King disponed to Mr Archibald Moncrieff a pension of L. 224, to be paid out of the same feu-duties of Balnagowan's. Mr Archibald pursued one of Balnagowan's sub-vassal's for payment of the whole pension. He alleged he could be convened for no more than the feu-duty of his subaltern infeftment. The Lords found, that as the King might seek his feu-duty out of the whole lands, or any part thereof, it being debitum fundi, so might the pensioner against any one of the sub-vassals. This was twice found, first against the old Lady Balnagowan, in July 1630, and after, against Hector Douglas, in December 1636.
