[From Atholl Papers - AP X25-49]

[Report by Gov Lindesay] ]No 8 [December 9th 1747]

May it please your Grace

My last of Nov 7th inclosing two bills drawen by the Bishop on his son for £50 each went by Lauchlen McLean the servant whom I brought with me from [..br ] who I told your Grace was going to London in hopes of better encouragement and carried with him the books of the last years amounts and also nine lawes for your Graces aprobation. The first part of the first cut for fees for tokens has the apearance of a profit intended for the Deemsters; and yet iot was vigorouslie oposed by both & in a great measure forced upon them; This is the act which wee aprehend may lessen one branch of your Graces revenue; The other part of it for charges to witneses will certainlie cure the Spirit of letigiousnes without having any hurtful consequence as to the revenue. The oldest Deemster Mcilray [Mylrea] who has been all his life time much conversant with the lawes & customs of this Isle is so verie uneasie about this act that he requested me to write to your Grace to postpone the passing the first part of the first act with the other act which relates to it for repealing the lawes touching yarded servants which puts the deemsters in a worse situation than the farmers.

Your Grace may remember how we came to pass an act against champarty which took its rise from the [cause] of those law suites which were sometime ago apealed to your Grace, Arthur Colcote [Calcot] apellant against the purchasers of [Balalogh?] a farm which was sold in parcels to diferent hands most of them now above 40 years ago by the father of this Calcot who is so miserablie poor and a simple creature. These purchasers some of whom at least their authors got (as I have been told) verie good bargains These agreed to make a contribution of 60 or 70 guineas to put this Calcote in a way of [liveing] and to get from him a ratification of their deeds of seal [sale?]. While this was atransacting, one Smith a bankrupt parson[person] who has been several years a prisoner in this Castle for debts contracted here and one Gill a practising attorney before the courts here, persuaded Calcote to reject this offer and asured him that they would recover the whole estate for him at law and at the same time prevailed on him to execute a formal deed; whereby, no less than three fourths of the whole estate was made over to Smith & Gill for their pains in manageing the law suit; and they had the assurance to bring Calcote befor the deemster to acknowlege this deed; which made so much noise that they protested they gave it back to Calcote & made him say he had destroyed it. Your Grace might have seen this Gill at London when he was manageing these apeals in Calcots name - he is a most troublesome creature; for some years he has write all the letters for Sidebotham the Kings oficer here to the Comissrs of the customs and puts that harmless creature (if he was left to himselfe) upon all his wild projects from a vain hope that by his zeal to hurt the revenue here, Sidebotham, will get a better plan in England and that Gill will serve him here who being a native would make mightie discoverys &c. As to the champerty act most of the Keys themselves are now indiferent about it, because it in part establishes by law, the verie thing, which it is intended to prevent.

If your Grace aproves of this proposition I have inclosed the form of an aprobation to be write after the 8 Acts which are all stiched together with the form of a negative to be write on the foot of the Champarty Act. I am &c P Lindesey

Castletown December 9th 1747

Arthur Calcot bapt 22 October 1696 was the first son of Turner Calcot and Ellinor Taubman - he would have expected to inherit the estate of Ballalough in Malew but several portions of this were sold by his parents to "satisfy our urgent necessities" during the period 1701 to 1711 [see several Old Deeds in Kk Malew].