THE STORNOWAY CHARTER. 297 



would accrue from the erection, he had signed a charter 

 giving effect to the petition. He was all the more willing 

 to grant Seaforth's request, because it was the intention of 

 the latter to proceed home immediately, to complete his 

 plans for starting ironworks and casting ordnance.* The 

 King, therefore, ordered the Council to communicate with 

 the Provost and Bailies of Edinburgh, desiring them to 

 convene a meeting of the Royal burghs for 8th July, and 

 thereafter to state their reasons, if any, against the proposed 

 erection. If any material objections were made by the 

 burghs, the matter was to remain in abeyance until such 

 objections had been laid before his Majesty for his con- 

 sideration ; but if no injurious results were urged, such as 

 would tend to the ruin and decay of the other burghs, or 

 would prejudice the interests of the kingdom generally, 

 the signature was to hold good, and the charter was to be 

 " exped."t 



It is obvious that the King had an inkling of the atti- 

 tude adopted by the Convention of burghs : the similarity 

 between their arguments and the " material '' objections 

 mentioned in the letter of Charles suggests, indeed, that 

 means had already been taken by the Commissioners to 

 acquaint him with their views. On 2nd July, John Hay 

 Town-Clerk of Edinburgh, reported to the Convention 

 that the charter had been signed by the King, who had 

 referred the matter to the consideration of the Lords of 

 the Exchequer ; and a meeting of the representatives of 

 the principal burghs was called for 8th July, to consider the 

 best means of opposing the signature. On nth July, the 

 burgh of Edinburgh was appointed to represent the Con- 

 vention at. a meeting of the Privy Council, and was em- 

 powered to act generally in the interests of the burghs, in 

 respect of the matter. 



* It is not quite clear whether the ironworks were to be started in Lewis, 

 or whether Stornoway was simply to be the market for the output at Letterewe. 

 There were copper and lead mines in Lewis at the beginning of the seventeenth 

 century,. as appears by a patent granted to "Archibald Prymrois " (Reg. of 

 Privy Council of 'Scotland ', Vol. X., p. 525). Matthew Symson (1738) states 

 (The Present State of Scotland, p. 18), that there were iron mines in Lewis. 



t Reg. of P.C. (2nd series), Vol. II., pp. 336-7. 



