The Daughters of umquhile Crichton of Crawfordston v. Brown of Ingliston
Date: 23 January 1669 Case No. No. 257.
Effect of delivery.
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The daughters of the umquhile Crichton of Crawfordston, as heirs apparent to him immediately after his death, gave in a supplication to the Lords, desiring his charter-chest to be inventoried and sequestrated;
Which the Lords granted.
But before the commission came to the house, William Lawrie, the Lady's nephew, upon notice of the order, rode night and day, and prevented the same; so that all the writs were carried from Crawfordston to Ingliston.
Thereafter the apparent heirs raised exhibition ad deliberandum, against the Lady and others, who produced three dispositions by Crawfordston, in favours of Brown of Ingliston, who had married one of his daughters, and the heirs of that marriage, whereby he disponed his estate of Crawdfordston to them, with a bond of £20,000, the intent whereof seems to have been that they might have apprised, to make the disposition effectual; and she and William Lawrie having deponed, acknowledged that the writs and charter-chest were carried out of Crawfordston to Ingliston, but deponed that they knew not whether these writs were amongst them or not, or whether they were formerly delivered to Ingliston himself, who is now dead: There was in the exhibition libelled a declarator, that the writs were null, as not delivered, and that being unwarrantably taken out of the defunct's charter-chest, after the Lords' order to the contrary, they ought to be put back and sequestrated, till the rights of parties were discussed. The pursuers did now insist in this last member, to the which it was answered, that the writs being exhibited to the apparent heirs ad deliberandum, and they having seen them, they could have no further interest, but the Lady Crawfordston tutor to her oye Ingliston, ought to have them up again, who produced them; neither is it, nor can it be instructed, that these writs were unwarrantably taken out of the charter-chest, after the Lords' warrant, seeing their oaths bore, that they knew not whether these were in the charter-chest, or not; and therefore being a pupil's writs, in his favours, produced by his tutrix, they cannot be taken from him or sequestrated, unless the unwarrantable medling therewith were proved. 2dly, By a disposition of the moveables to the Lady produced, granted by the defunct, it bears a delivery of the keys of the charter-chest to her, to be delivered to Ingliston with the charter-chest, which is equivalent as if they had been delivered to Ingliston himself, and she was content to be enacted to produce them when ever the Lords found cause. It was answered, that the Lords' warrant being anticipated, and the bulk of the writs in the charter-chest carried away, it must be presumed, that these dispositions, and that bond was amongst the rest, and so must be returned in statu quo.
The Lords found this allegeance relevant, unless the defenders would instruct that these writs were not in the charter-chest the time of the order, but out there-of in Ingliston's hands: and yet they allowed the parties presently to dispute whether, albeit these writs were in the charter-chest, Ingliston or his tutrix should have them up, or if they should remain sequestrated.
