Scottish Court of Session Decisions

Subject_1 DECISIONS of the LORDS OF COUNCIL AND SESSION, reported by SIR JAMES DALRYMPLE OF STAIR.

Sir George Mackenzie
v.
The Laird of Newhal

Date: 30 July 1668

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Sir George Mackenzie, advocate, having married a daughter of John Dickson of Hartrie, they pursue a proving of the tenor of an inventory of Hartrie's lands, wherein he altered the former substitution of his children in several bonds, and particularly of a bond of 5000 merks, granted by Whitehead of Park, payable to himself, and, after his decease, to Helen Dickson, his youngest daughter, who was married to Ballenden of Newhal; and by the inventory the substitution was altered, and the one half of the bond appointed to pertain to Elizabeth, now spouse to Sir George M'Kenzie, and the other to Helen and Michael. To prove that the same was holograph, because it wanted witnesses, there were produced, for adminicles, the copy of it, written by John Kelloe's hand, Hartrie's nephew, and a judicial instrument, containing the tenor of it, by way of transumpt. But there were some words of difference between the instrument and the copy, which was subscribed by John Ramsay, Hartrie's good-brother, and Mr John Pringle, Hartrie's good-son;—who, and several others, being adduced as witnesses, deponed, That the principal inventory was produced by Hartrie on his deathbed, and shown to his friends, and by them read; and that the subscribed copy was collationed with the principal by them that subscribed the same, and held in all points; and that the principal inventory was all written with Hartrie's own hand, except an alteration made upon a bond of Tarbet's, which was written by John Ramsay's hand, by direction of Hartrie, some hours before he died, and was not able to subscribe it, with some other alterations in relation to bonds, wherein the children substitute were dead; but that this article, in relation to Whitehead's bond, was all written with Hartrie's own hand. The Lords found the tenor proven, conform to the subscribed copy, and found the said inventory holograph, except in relation to Tarbet's bond, and these other particulars written by John Ramsay's hand; so that holograph was proven, without production of the principal writ, jointly with the tenor, albeit some part of the writ was not Hartrie's hand, but written by John Ramsay's hand; but these, not being subscribed by Hartrie, were in the same case as if they had been omitted forth of the inventory, and the remainder of the inventory, which only was probative, was all holograph.

Vol. I, Page 560.