1917.] A FORGOTTEN EPISODE. 43 



On consulting the House of Commons journal for Feb- 

 ruary 6th, 1707-8, I can only find that the following Standing 

 Order was agreed upon on that day : — 



" That all Persons intending to apply themselves to the Parliament 

 of Great Britain for obtaining Private Acts relating to estates in 

 Ireland, do from henceforth give publicq notice of their said Intention, 

 by affixing printed Papers, setting forth their Pretensions in each of 

 the four Courts of Justice in Dublin during the whole term which shall 

 precede the Sessions of Parliament, as also in the Chief Town wherein 

 the Assizes are usually kept, of each County where the lands shall 

 happen to be, for one month at least before the Bill be brought in." 



This Petition was followed by another, entitled " The 

 Cries of the Orphans," which was presented to the House of 

 Parliament early in 1714. It alludes to the Royal Warrant 

 of 1702, and to another in 1706, to the Order in Parliament 

 of 1707, and to others of April 6th, 1706, and June 7th, 

 1711, to " Commands" of the 10th and 16th December, 1711, 

 to the Queen's l * Orders" of December 10th, 1708, and July 

 25th, 1709, and to Her "Declaration " of June 1710 ; and it 

 states that at a Cabinet Council, held August 25th, 1712, 

 Her Majesty had ordered the Duke of Buckingham to pay 

 the due into Margaret Baliol's own hands, that the Commis- 

 sioners and Barons of the Exchequer and the Receiver and 

 Paymaster-General of Ireland had on the same day received 

 like orders, and that on the following October an order had 

 been made that Six thousand pounds should be paid to the 

 orphans out of the Exchequer, but that no part of that sum 

 had been received by them, although the Queen had, on 

 September 28th, 1712, indorsed a bill for Two thousand 

 pounds. 



This Petition further states that, according to the 

 Queen's direction, the Duke of Buckingham had caused the 

 said warrants, etc., to be brought in the General Council held 

 November 24th, 1712, when the Petitioner, Margaret, had 

 attended to receive them, but by " fraud ulous combination " 

 she had been denied admittance, the letters being " left to the 

 care of Esquire Blatwell and Esquire Southwell, Clerks of 

 the Council, to be delivered." " Thus on all sides we are 

 fraudulently dealt with, being kept out of our Rights and 

 having not received any moneys in so many years' attendance, 

 which hath exhausted and consumed that Noble, Ancient and 

 Numerous family of the Baliols. Our ancestors were the 

 founders of Baliol College in Oxford and conquered the 

 Island of Guernsey and presented the same to the Crown 

 of England." (!) 



These wonderful statements serve to show that the claim- 



