THAT there being an Act presented in Parliament upon Friday the four­teenth day of June instant, by the Magistrates of Edinburgh, Making mention, That the saids Magistrates had been at Vast Expences in pur­chasing Toddies well, and some other Springs, And in making of Lead-Pipes, Conduites; and Cisterns, for conveying in the same to Edinburgh, And that the saids Fountains do not furnish sufficiencie of Water for the Numerous Inhabitants of the said City, and others thereto Resorting; And that in the time of Drought or Froasts, the same do furnish little or no Water. And it being neces­sar for perfecting their Design, That Comistoun and all other adjacent Heritors be ob­lieged to sell and dispone to the saids Magistrates, such Wells and Fountains as may be necessar for the use of the Burgh, Together with the Ground needfull, lying about the saids Wells, for preserving the same; And for laying of the Pipes and Conduites, for bringing in of the said Water to the Pipes, and Cisterns already made; Therefore His Majestie, &c. did impower the Lords of Privy Council to call before them the Laird of Comistoun, and any other Heritors that may be con­cerned, and whether they appear or not, To cause Appretiate any Wells or Springs belonging to Comistoun, or the saids other Heritors, as might be us [...]full for the Town of Edinburgh, with the Ground next adjacent thereto; And upon their con­signation of the summs, at which the samen should happen to be appretiate, To decern Comistoun and all the other Heritors and Superiours, To make R [...]signation thereof in the Towns Favours. To the effect they may hold the samen immediately of the King; And that Comistoun and the other Heritors may be discharged to Digg, Hew, or set down any Pitts, Holes, or Sinks, near to the saids Wells·

This Act was appointed to ly on the Table till Thursday, the 20th: instant, To the effect that Comistoun and the other Heritors concerned, may give in their Ob­jections against the same; And seeing the said Act is principally intended against Comistoun, He Humbly craves Liberty to Represent to my Lord Commissioner, his Grace, and the Honourable Estates of Parliament, The Severe and Hard measures he hath already mett with from the Town of Edinburgh; And what further preju­dice he is justly apprehensive of from Them, in case the foresaid Act should pass in their Favours.

Comistouns Mother having (in his Minority) disponed Toddies well, and six Ells round the same, to the Town of Edinburgh, for the summ of 1000 me [...]ks Scots al­lenerly, to be holden Few of her self, and her Successours, for yearly payment of four pounds Scots. She took them expresly oblieged to Repair all the Dammage she sh [...]uld sustain by the breaking her ground to lay in their Pipes, &c. And she was so apprehensive of their further Encroachments, That in case the saids Todds-well were not sufficient to serve the Town with Water. They should be oblieged to supply the same from the upper Springs in Pentland hills; And she was only oblieged to allow them liberty to convey their Pipes to Todds-well.

Albeit the Lady Comistoun, nor her Son after he succeeded in her Right, did never violate any Article of that Contract in the least; Yet the Town of Edinburgh did use many Acts of Oppression against Com [...]stoun; 1mo. By casting up his ground, and [Page 2]leaving many Pitts and Stanks open therein, by which many of the Bestial did perish in the Winter. 2do. They did by open Bangstrie and Oppression take in other two Wells, to which they can pretend no imaginary Right, and builded houses over the saids Wells. 3tio. When Comistoun came with a Notar and Witnes­ses, and made civil Interruption against the said unjust Encroachment and Oppres­sion, They did pursue him before the Privy Council as guilty of a Ryot; And did thereby put him to very great Trouble and Expences, albeit he was Assoilzied from that complaint by the Justice of the Privy Council. 4to. They still retain the saids two Wells so unwarrantably robbed by Them, and thereby Comistoun has neither a wholesome Spring for the use of his own Family, Nor any convenient watering place for his Cattel: And after Comistoun was Assoilzied from their com­plaint before the Privy Council, One of the Members of the Town Council of E­dinburgh, did in presence of the Magistrates themselves, Threaten Comistoun to his Face, By saying. That if he offered to Debate with them, they should ruine him intirely, as they formerly had done the Laird of Restaltig.

The Laird of Comistoun hath lately found our upon his ground both a Lime-Stone-Quarrie, with a good Coal, and a very good Copper mine; And having set down a Sink for his Coal, And a quantitie of his Copper being alreadie melted, and found sufficient; And he being in Terms of a Bargain with some Englishmen for his Copper, by which he expects more benefite in time coming than three times the Value of his yearly Rent will amount to. This Act is levelled and contrived principally against Comistoun to frustrate the well grounded hopes he hath of his Copper, Coal, and Lime-stone: And therefore he humbly expects from the Justice of the High Court of Par­liament. That no such Act can pass in Favours, of the Town of Edinburgh, to his so great and evident prejudice; Because, 1mo. Comistouns Wells being his uncontraver­ted Property, And the Inheritance of his Fathers; No Law can Obliege him to Sell or Dispone them to any other person; Especially, where his retaining and re­fusing to dispone the same. cannot be pretended to be done, In Aemulationem, But only for the Conveniencie and necess [...]r Accommodation of his own Family and Lands, it being impossible for him to Live, or keep the Lands, Tennants-stead without these Wells, And he hath, de facto, been necessitate to keep the mains of Comistoun in his own hand, Because, no Tennant will take it from him, for fear of the Town of Edinburghs Encrocahment and Oppression, For seeing they used Comi­stoun himself in manner above represented, What could a poor Tennant expect to meet with from them. 2do. As it is an uncontraverted principle, That Water is the Mother of Coals, and all other Minerals; So Coals and all other Minerals are found near to Springs of Water, And seeing that Coals and Copper cannot be wrought with­out Sinks and Levels, And that the setting down and working thereof doth frequently Drain and take away the Water from these Springs; The allowing of these Springs to the Town of Edinburgh; And discharging to set down a Sink near to these Wells, imports no less than to discharge Comistoun from working of his Coal and Copper-Mines. The Town of Edinburgh may as well crave, That Comistoun may be Forefei­ted (albeit he be guilty of no Crime, and that his Forefeiture may be gifted to the Town of Edinburgh.)

3tio. If the said Act should be past, Comistoun should be absolutely debarred from inmp [...]oving his Ground by Ditching, Inclosing and Planting; Because all Inclosures are useless where there is no Water; And where can Comistoun have Water when all his Springs and Wells are by Act of Parliament, Appropriat and Declared to belong to the Town of Edinburgh. 4to. By this Act as it is conceived, Neither Comistoun nor any of his Tennents can have as much as Water, for their own Families, or the use of his Carrel, without a Licence from the Town of Edinburgh; And they might pre­tend to bring their Water through his own Closs, Dwelling house, or Gardens, or through the Tennants Dwelling-houses; or Corn-yeards, &c. And what an intolle­rable Servitude would this prove upon all Comistouns Estate? And whither or not the same might in a short time lay the Estate intirely waste, if setled in such potent hands as the Town of Edinburgh is known to be, and whither or not, any rationall man, would pay an a adequat price for lands affected with such an intolerable servitud [Page 3]in [...]av [...]urs of the Town, Is referred to the consideration of this high and Honourable Court. 5to. The former grounds are likewayes propond for all the other Adjacent Heritors, Because if the said Act were past, they would be lyable to the Servitude and Dammages above represented, and the Town of Edinburgh would thereby have the same pretence to insult over them, and oppress their Interest, and keep them from improvement thereof, which they crave by the said Act against the Laird of Comi­stoun. 6to. To convince your Grace, and the Honourable Estates of Parliament, That the Town of Edinburghs true design in this affair. is only to fix an intolerable Servitude upon Comistoun, and the hail other Adjacent Heritors, and to hinder them from the lawful Improvements of their own Interests, There are more Springs upon Pentland Hills, a little above Toddies well, and which may easily be brought down, and conveyed to that Toddies well, without doing the least prejudice to any Mans Pro­perty, than will serve the Town of Edinburgh three times over: And Comistoun is ex­presly obliedged by his Mothers Contract, to allow them Liberty to convey the Springs from Pentland hills to Toddies well; So that seeing the Town may be abundant­ly served that way. It were above all measure hard to allow the Town of Edinburgh such an intollerable Seruitude upon Comistoun and the other Heritors, so much to their prejudice, Especially, seeing the Sinks set down, and to be set down by Comistoun, and other Improvements intended by him, are at such a distance from Toddies well, and from the Springs which they may have from Pentland hills, That they neither are, nor ever can be prejudged therey in the least.

May it therefore please your Grace, and the Honourable Estates of Parliament, To consider the Premisses, and the great Pre­judice and Servitude, if not the total ruine of our Fortunes, designed against us by the Town of Edinburgh, in the foresaid Act, and to reject the same as unjust and unreasonable. And your Petitioners shall ever Pray, &c.