80 The Kindly Tenants. 



It concerns rentals or written leases intended to be granted by 

 the Crown after that to rentallers without expressing heirs. 

 These are declared to be only rights for life ; but the respondents' 

 tenures are much more ancient. The right of the heirs has been 

 acknowledged by the Crown in the several deeds above recited, 

 and particularly by the sign-manual, anno 16C4, and though the 

 appellant pretends this sign-manual was stopt in Exchequer, that 

 does no way appear, nor could it possibly be true, seeing such a 

 sign-manual is not a writing of that nature which required its 

 being passed in Exchequer, but had its full effect by the King's 

 subscription. That as late as the year 1692, wiien a question 

 arose between the appellant's father and the respondents concern- 

 ing their being subject to the land tax, the appellants insisted 

 that they were irremovable tenants, and ought to be taxed on 

 that account, whereby he acknowledged them to be such as they 

 now plead. 



Objection 6th. — That anno 1690 the tenants obtained an order 

 of Parliament directing the commissioners of the land tax to 

 take off their assessment because they were only tenants, and if 

 that order has had no effect the respondents have themselves to 

 blame. 



Answer — The order was just notwithstanding of there being 

 irremovable tenants, since it is not the tenants but tlie pro- 

 prietors who are to pay the land tax. Nevertheless that order 

 has had no effect, but the tenants have still been assessed ; the 

 appellant's father insisted they should be assessed, and he pre- 

 vailed, for by that deci-ee it is adjudged that they should bear a 

 proportion of the land tax, according to the assessment made in 

 anno 1667. 



This able defence prevailed with the Court, and the case was 

 decided in favour of the Four Towns. Since this decision their 

 position as kindly irremovable tenants has been uncontested. 

 In 1810 the Earl of Mansfield raised an action in the Court of 

 Session to secure that the different tenants, when they divided 

 tlieir land into smaller pieces, should have each of these pieces 

 entered in his roll book, but he did not dispute their right to 

 divide their land and transfer its different portions to others. 



Sir Walter Scott, in the close of his note already quoted from, 



says " The kindly tenants of Lochmaben live, or at least lived 



till lately, much sequestered from their neighbours, marry among 

 themselves according to the ancient Border custom. You meet 



