Scottish Court of Session Decisions

Subject_1 DECISIONS of the LORDS OF COUNCIL AND SESSION. reported by ALEXANDER TAIT, CLERK OF SESSION, one of the reporters for the faculty.
Subject_2 SASINE.

Skelly
v.
Duff

Date: 7 July 1774

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By the decision, 9th February 1768, in the case of the Cromarty elections, the Lords had established that the entry of a sasine, in the minute-book, subscribed by the presenter and keeper, and lodging the sasine in the register office, was equivalent to actual recording; which last, on account of a multitude of sasines given in, and the length of them, was often impracticable. And it was observed that, although formerly sasines were very short, in later times, particularly since the act 1685 concerning tailyies, they are become very long. But this day, 17th June 1774, in a question of enrolment, Lieutenant Francis Skelly against Mr Arthur Duff, another point occurred, viz. :—That a sasine being presented at the Register-office, an entry was made in the minute book and the sasine lodged in the office, but the entry was not signed of that date, either by presenter or keeper. The reason of which was, that the keeper was from home; and, without his subscription, the signing of the presenter was of no avail, and did not fulfil the directions of the Act.

The Lords ordered an inquiry into the practice; and from that inquiry so much irregularity appeared in the way and manner of keeping the registers of sasines, in many shires in Scotland,—betwixt ten and fifteen were condescended on,—that the Lords were moved by the dread of consequences, and repelled the objection, holding the sasine to be registered of the date of the entry in the minute-book. But they resolved to make an Act of Sederunt regulating in futurum this, as well as other errors concerning this matter.