Immediately upon the death of a party who had papers belonging to others, the Court, on petition, summarily ordered them to be sealed, without intimating the petition.
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William Laurie, tutor of Blackwood, having deceased this day, application is made to the Lords by Sir George Weir of Blackwood, his grandchild, and other friends, representing, That he had many papers in his custody belonging to them, the Duke of Douglas, and others, which might be abstracted or embezzled; therefore craved a warrant to seal and sequestrate them, till friends might meet and inspect them. The Lords remembered there was an act of sederunt made on the 23d February, 1692, for inventorying and securing the writs of persons moribundi, that they might not be put out of the way, and that there was periculum in mora; therefore, without either intimating the bill, or giving it up to see, or going to the minute-book, they sent one of the Clerks of Session to seal up his cabinets and coffers where his writs lay, to be opened when application shall be made, and all concerned are advertised to attend, it being better thus rem salvam fore, than, by after explications, to be pursuing them to exhibit upon oath; though it was judged somewhat singular, if upon our death our papers shall all be sealed up at the desire of some friends, without hearing others concerned, why no such restraint and embargo should be made; for if an apparent heir summarily intromit, it is a passive title; but he may put material papers out of the charter-chest, and these fraudulent conveyances are not so easily discovered thereafter, et præstat in tempore occurere quam vulnerata causa remedium quærere.
Fol. Dic. v. 2. p. 365. Fountainhall, v. 2. p. 214.
