Scottish Court of Session Decisions

Subject_1 DECISIONS of the LORDS OF COUNCIL AND SESSION, reported by SIR JOHN LAUDER OF FOUNTAINHALL.
Subject_2 I sat in the Outer-House this week.

Semple of Beltrees
v.
James Steill

Date: 29 November 1709

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Semple of Beltrees elder, being resting some small debts up and down the country, and trusting one James Steill, a notary and writer in Beith, to purchase in his debts; he, taking advantage of his simplicity, buys in about twenty debts, and causes Beltrees renew the bonds. And because he was under a registrate interdiction, he, to shun it, makes them of a date some years prior, and then adjudges for the whole, and charges the superiors to infeft him, and pursues for maills and duties. Beltrees, younger, finding his father overreached, he raises a reduction and improbation of the whole bonds which were the grounds of the adjudication; and Steill having produced them all but three, there is a certification extracted against these three, as false, for not production. And, as to the seventeen produced, Beltrees craved he might abide by the verity thereof, sub periculo falsi. And he compearing, refused to abide by fifteen of them, but only subscribed his abiding by two; whereupon young Beltrees extracted his decreet of improbation as to these fifteen simply passed from, which extended to upwards of 25,000 merks: And, as to the remaining, he repeated his articles of falsehood, but so as they likewise dipped on the forgery of these fifteen passed from; in regard the darkness of the contrivance, and the length of time, had made the probation and discovery more difficult; yet vestiges enough still remained of the forgery, such as, he was under no necessity to purchase them, and knew old Beltrees was interdicted, and yet he would meddle. Next, they (though for considerable sums,) are all wrote on half sheets, and such as want the mark of the paper; by which, in the Earl of Haddington's time, when President of the Session, a forgery of a bond was discovered; and some of them being granted to his own tenants, were afterwards paid and allowed in their rents. And, as some sort of men had need of a good memory, so Mr Steill has been here caught in his own snare; for some of the bonds acknowledge receipt of the money from persons that were not then four years old, and others of them are dated on Sunday; and generally they bear dead witnesses, whereof one of them on his death-bed declared he was never adhibited a witness to any of Beltrees's bonds, above eight years ago, and yet they bore a much older date: besides they were all of one style, which evinced that one spirit actuated and informed the whole machine, and proved the contrivance came from one and the same hand: and though a late example was made on Hunter and Strachan, yet it was forgot, and persons were beginning that trade again.

The Lords thought his passing from the fifteen bonds did not free him from the pœna falsi, seeing he had made use of them in the manner above mentioned; and though he denied any accession, and alleged all he acted was with old Beltrees's consent, yet the Lords discharged the clerks to give up these bonds passed from, but ordered them to lie till the event, for giving farther light; and issued out a warrant to sheriffs, magistrates, and all other judges, to apprehend him, till he were tried, either before themselves or the criminal court.

Vol. II. Page 531.