Scottish Court of Session Decisions

Subject_1 KIRK-SESSION.

Hamilton of Westburn
v.
The Minister and Kirk-Session of Cambuslang

1752, July 25. Nov. 22.
Case No. No. 2.

Click here to view a pdf copy of this documet : PDF Copy

This was a process, at the heritors' instance, against the Kirk-Session, to exhibit their books and accounts of the poor's money, and charging misapplications, which came originally before me, and after abundance of wrangling, the books being at last produced, and the defenders having first on commission, and next in Court, deponed as to certain allegations of the pursuers, the case came before the Court as a concluded cause, wherein certain objections were made to some articles of debursements of the poor's money, parti-cularly that in 1742 there was an article of two guineas for having a field to preach in, and an article to a Constable to keep the peace, and 17 shillings for repairing a dike that the congregation had broken. Answered, That there was so great a resort at that time, that the sacrament had been administered several different times in three months, that the Church could not hold the tenth part of them, and there was no other remedy than to preach in the fields; that the poor, instead of losing, were great gainers by that expedient, in so much, that their stock, from L.500 Scots, that it was before 1742, is now increased to L.3000 Scots. Some of the Lords highly condemned the practice of preaching in the fields, and proposed that we should put a mark of our disapprobation upon it;—but I thought that we had no power either to approve or disapprove of his preaching in the fields, or of his not preaching in the Church, that that was the province only of his superiors m the Church, (and most of the Court agreed with me) and that the only question we could judge of was, whether any injustice had been done to the poor, or any dilapidation of their money? and I thought they could have no reason to complain of a measure by which they gained ten times as much as all these articles, and which they could not have got without that expense;—but the Lords disallowed all these articles. Renit. multum Drummore, Kilkerran, Leven. et me. The pursuer also objected to an article stated for purchasing communion-elements. Answered, all the Minister has for communion-elements is 50 merks, which could not furnish all the elements necessary for so great numbers. The Lords repelled this objection, and sustained the article. 3dly, He objected to an annual article for the Presbytery-Clerk, and another for the Session-Clerk. Answered, That by universal custom, that is paid by all the Sessions in Scotland. The Lords found the articles illegal, but because of the custom sustained them.——I doubted if the Session-Clerk was illegal, because he is necessary for the administration of the poor's funds, and I know no salary or emoluments he has qua Session-Clerk, if he is not Schoolmaster, or as in country parishes they were commonly both, but may be otherwise. 22d November, Adhered as to the first of the articles, and adhered as to Presbytery-Clerk not to be allowed in time coming; but repelled simplioiter the objection to Session-Clerk.