THE SEAFORTH ESTATES. 417 



testant heir of Isobel, late Countess of Seaforth,* in whose 

 person the deeds of trust had been invested for behoof of 

 the family ; and that William, Earl of Seaforth, as a pro- 

 fessed Papist had no title to the property. The other claim 

 was made on behalf of Kenneth Mackenzie of Gruinard, in 

 virtue of the deed of conveyance made in his favour by the 

 Countess Isobel. The Commissioners and Trustees of the 

 Forfeited Estates opposed both claims. They objected 

 and the Court of Session sustained their objection that 

 the conveyance to Gruinard was invalid, inasmuch as the 

 deeds of trust were for behoof of the family, and could not 

 be assigned to Mackenzie to the prejudice of the family. 

 They objected to Assynt's claim, that it was founded on 

 the fact of his being the nearest Protestant heir to the 

 Countess Isobel, as trustee ; not as being nearest Protestant 

 heir-of-blood to the family of Seaforth.f Therefore, they 

 argued that his claim could only apply to the office of 

 trustee, and could only carry with it the property right 

 which belonged to Earl William. The one was a trust, 

 the other a property right ; and the latter not having been 

 claimed, must remain with the public. To these objections, 

 Assynt replied that Earl William, being a notorious Papist, 

 was by the Act of 1700, incapable of succeeding to, or 

 enjoying, the estates ; and that the succession consequently 

 devolved upon him. The Commissioners urged that the 

 plea of notoriety failed to hold good, as Earl William had 

 it in his power to exclude Assynt by taking the oath of 

 recantation ; besides which, they said (and rightly), the 

 present claim was made to deprive the public of the 

 estates, not to deprive his kinsman of it, otherwise it 

 would have been heard of before. And so the lawyers 

 split hairs. In addition to the Seaforth possessions, Assynt 



* Kenneth Mackenzie of Assynt was the only son of John, second son of 

 Kenneth Mor. His uncle (and Seaforth's), Colonel Mackenzie, was the fourth 

 son of Kenneth Mor. Colonel Mackenzie's two grandsons subsequently suc- 

 ceeded to the estates. 



t Probably the form which Assynt's claim took, arose from the consideration 

 that, while he desired to be recognised as heir to the estates, he had no wish to 

 inherit the debts as well ! The debts, as a matter of fact, were considerably in 

 excess of the value of the estates. 



