Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746
Encyclopedia
The Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746 (20 Geo. II c. 43) was an Act
of the British Parliament
passed in the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1745
.
Traditionally, Scottish lords had inherited regalities and had been able to judge in civil and criminal cases among their dependants. The Act put an end to this by extending universal royal jurisdiction throughout Scotland
. The powers previously possessed by Scottish lords were transferred to sheriffs appointed by the King and the hereditary justiciarship of Scotland, held by the family of Argyll, was to be purchased and transferred to the High Court and Circuit-courts of Justiciary. Parliament granted £152,000 for the purchase of heritable jurisdictions. The Prime Minister
Henry Pelham
considered this the most important measure in dealing with Jacobitism in Scotland.
Lord Hardwicke
argued in favour of the Act by asserting that if the powers were restored to the crown it would enable it to secure the allegiance of the people: "The people will follow those, who have the power to protect or hurt them". Consequently, it was imperative for ministers of a constitutional monarch to remove these powers from private persons. However the Duke of Argyll
argued that the decentralisation of jurisdictions was a major bulwark of liberty and Montesquieu
believed that the multiple jurisdictions were a check on the crown and therefore a defence of liberty. Hardwicke replied that multiple jurisdictions could be a safeguard against an aspiring absolute monarch in a state without a constitutional check on its powers. Britain, however, was not in that position. The British constitution had limited the powers of the monarch and its prerogatives and therefore liberty was secure. Private jurisdictions themselves would endanger liberty by encroaching on the legal authority of a constitutional monarchy. King George II, in a speech written by Hardwicke, praised the Act as measures for "better securing the liberties of the people there".
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
of the British Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
passed in the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1745
Jacobite Rising of 1745
The Jacobite rising of 1745, often referred to as "The 'Forty-Five," was the attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for the exiled House of Stuart. The rising occurred during the War of the Austrian Succession when most of the British Army was on the European continent...
.
Traditionally, Scottish lords had inherited regalities and had been able to judge in civil and criminal cases among their dependants. The Act put an end to this by extending universal royal jurisdiction throughout Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The powers previously possessed by Scottish lords were transferred to sheriffs appointed by the King and the hereditary justiciarship of Scotland, held by the family of Argyll, was to be purchased and transferred to the High Court and Circuit-courts of Justiciary. Parliament granted £152,000 for the purchase of heritable jurisdictions. The Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Henry Pelham
Henry Pelham
Henry Pelham was a British Whig statesman, who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 27 August 1743 until his death in 1754...
considered this the most important measure in dealing with Jacobitism in Scotland.
Lord Hardwicke
Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke
Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke PC was an English lawyer and politician who served as Lord Chancellor. He was a close confidant of the Duke of Newcastle, Prime Minister between 1754 and 1756 and 1757 until 1762....
argued in favour of the Act by asserting that if the powers were restored to the crown it would enable it to secure the allegiance of the people: "The people will follow those, who have the power to protect or hurt them". Consequently, it was imperative for ministers of a constitutional monarch to remove these powers from private persons. However the Duke of Argyll
Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll
Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll, 1st Earl of Ilay was a Scottish nobleman, politician, lawyer, businessman and soldier...
argued that the decentralisation of jurisdictions was a major bulwark of liberty and Montesquieu
Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu
Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu , generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French social commentator and political thinker who lived during the Enlightenment...
believed that the multiple jurisdictions were a check on the crown and therefore a defence of liberty. Hardwicke replied that multiple jurisdictions could be a safeguard against an aspiring absolute monarch in a state without a constitutional check on its powers. Britain, however, was not in that position. The British constitution had limited the powers of the monarch and its prerogatives and therefore liberty was secure. Private jurisdictions themselves would endanger liberty by encroaching on the legal authority of a constitutional monarchy. King George II, in a speech written by Hardwicke, praised the Act as measures for "better securing the liberties of the people there".