THE FIFE ADVENTURERS. 197 



construct harbours and collect for their own use the petty 

 dues, reserving for the King the " great customs " on all 

 fish and other goods imported and exported. Encourage- 

 ment is given them to open taverns, &c., for the accom- 

 modation of strangers. They are empowered to erect as 

 many burghs of barony as may be requisite, such burghs 

 to have all the privileges of "free" burghs of barony, 

 and to call them by whatever names they please ; to 

 appoint weekly market days and free annual fairs, to be 

 held within each burgh so erected, with a special pro- 

 tection to all people resorting thither ; and to create and 

 incorporate what is to be called in all time coming the 

 free Stewartry of Lewis, with all the privileges of a free 

 Stewartry. 



The Act further ordains that Lewis and the other lands 

 are to be equally divided into ten parts, each part to be 

 erected into a free barony under a special denomination, 

 with a principal messuage appertaining thereto ; that the 

 Adventurers are to be exempt from all military service, 

 except for foreign wars, for expeditions undertaken for 

 the conquest of the rest of the Isles, and for the quelling 

 of disturbances north of the Ness. 



Then follow valuations of Lewis and its pertinents 

 (40 pound lands of old extent) and Trotternish (80 merks) 

 for taxable purposes ; stipulations as to the nature of the 

 tenure (feu-farm heritable) ; and the terms for payment of 

 the rent, that for Trotternish being fixed at one-third of 

 the money payment for Lewis. Concerning the salaries 

 of the ministers, " ane ressonabill stepend " is to be pro- 

 vided from the teinds "for thair sustentatioun and inter- 

 tenement"* 



It will thus be seen that so far as Royal encouragement 

 could make the enterprise a success, the Adventurers con- 

 tinued their efforts under the most favourable auspices. 

 The project set forth in the foregoing Act was an 

 ambitious one. Its aims were nothing short of revolu- 



* Acts of Par!., Vol. IV., pp. 248-250. 



