James Dalrymple, 1st Viscount of Stair
Encyclopedia
James Dalrymple, 1st Viscount of Stair (May 1619 – 29 November 1695), Scottish
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...

 lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 and statesman
Statesman
A statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...

, was born at Drummurchie, Barr, South Ayrshire
South Ayrshire
South Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway....

.

Biography

James Dalrymple descended several generations of a family inclined to the principles of the Reformation
Scottish Reformation
The Scottish Reformation was Scotland's formal break with the Papacy in 1560, and the events surrounding this. It was part of the wider European Protestant Reformation; and in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the re-establishment of the church along Reformed lines, and politically in...

. He had ancestors both on the father's and the mother's side among the Lollards of Kyle. His father, James Dalrymple, laird
Laird
A Laird is a member of the gentry and is a heritable title in Scotland. In the non-peerage table of precedence, a Laird ranks below a Baron and above an Esquire.-Etymology:...

 of the small estate of Stair in the District of Kyle, Ayrshire, died when he was an infant. His mother, Janet Kennedy of Knockdaw, is described as "a woman of excellent spirit", who took care to have him well-educated. From the grammar school at Mauchline
Mauchline
Mauchline is a town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. In the 2001 census it had a recorded population of 4105. It lies by the Glasgow and South Western Railway line, 8 miles east-southeast of Kilmarnock and 11 miles northeast of Ayr. It is situated on a gentle slope about 1 mile from the River Ayr,...

 he went, in 1633, to the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...

, where he graduated in arts on 26 July 1637. Next year he went to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

, probably with the intention of studying law, but the troubles of the times, then approaching a crisis, led him to change his course, and we next find him serving in the Earl of Glencairn
William Cunningham, 8th Earl of Glencairn
William Cunningham, 9th Earl of Glencairn , was a Scottish nobleman, Lord Chancellor of Scotland, and a cavalier. He was also the chief of Clan Cunningham....

's regiment in the War of the Covenant
Covenanter
The Covenanters were a Scottish Presbyterian movement that played an important part in the history of Scotland, and to a lesser extent in that of England and Ireland, during the 17th century...

.

What part he took in it is not certainly known, but he was in command of a troop when recalled in 1641 to compete for a regency (as a tutorship or professorship was then called) in the University of Glasgow. He was elected in March. Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

, logic
Logic
In philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...

, ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...

 and politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...

 were the chief subjects of his lectures, and a notebook on logic by one of his students has been preserved. His activity and skill in matters of college business were praised by his colleagues, who numbered amongst them some of the leading Covenanting divines, and his zeal in teaching was gratefully acknowledged by his students. After nearly seven years' service he resigned his regency, and removed to Edinburgh, where he was admitted to the bar
Practice of law
In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professional services of a lawyer or attorney at law, barrister,...

 on 17 February 1648.

This step had probably been rendered easier by his marriage, four years before, to Margaret Ross, co-heiress of Balneil in Wigtown
Wigtown
Wigtown is a town and former royal burgh in the Machars of Galloway in the south west of Scotland. It lies south of Newton Stewart and east of Stranraer. It has a population of about 1,000...

. Stair's practice at the bar does not appear to have been large. His talents lay rather in the direction of learning and business than of oratory
Oratory
Oratory is a type of public speaking.Oratory may also refer to:* Oratory , a power metal band* Oratory , a place of worship* a religious order such as** Oratory of Saint Philip Neri ** Oratory of Jesus...

 or advocacy
Advocacy
Advocacy is a political process by an individual or a large group which normally aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an...

. His reputation and the confidence reposed in him were shown by his appointment in 1649 as secretary to the commission sent to the Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...

 to treat with Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...

 by the Scots Parliament
Parliament of Scotland
The Parliament of Scotland, officially the Estates of Parliament, was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland. The unicameral parliament of Scotland is first found on record during the early 13th century, with the first meeting for which a primary source survives at...

. The negotiation having been broken off through the unwillingness of the young king to accept the terms of the Covenanters, Stair was again sent in the following year to Breda, where the failure of Montrose
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose was a Scottish nobleman and soldier, who initially joined the Covenanters in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, but subsequently supported King Charles I as the English Civil War developed...

's expedition forced Charles to change his attitude and to return to Scotland as the covenanted king. Stair had preceded him, and met him on his landing in Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...

, probably carrying with him the news of the execution of Montrose, which he had witnessed.

During the Commonwealth of England
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...

, Stair continued to practise at the bar, but like most of his brethren he refused in 1654 to take the oath of allegiance
Oath of allegiance
An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to monarch or country. In republics, modern oaths specify allegiance to the country's constitution. For example, officials in the United States, a republic, take an oath of office that...

 to the Commonwealth. Three years later, on the death of Lord Balcomie, Stair was appointed one of the Commissioners for the Administration of Justice in Scotland, on the recommendation of Monk
George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle
George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, KG was an English soldier and politician and a key figure in the restoration of Charles II.-Early life and career:...

. His appointment to the bench on 1 July 1657, by Monk, was confirmed by Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....

 on the 26th. Stair's association with the English judges at this time must have enlarged his acquaintance with English law, as his travels had extended his knowledge of the civil law
Civil law (legal system)
Civil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law and whose primary feature is that laws are codified into collections, as compared to common law systems that gives great precedential weight to common law on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different...

 and the modern European systems which followed it. He thus acquired a singular advantage when he came to write on law, regarding it from a cosmopolitan, or international, rather than a merely local or national point of view.

His actual discharge of judicial duty at this time was short, for after the death of Cromwell the courts in Scotland were shut--a new commission issued in 1660 not having taken effect, it being uncertain in whose name the commission ought to run. It was during this period that Stair became intimate with Monk, who is said to have been advised by him when he left Scotland to call a full and free parliament. Soon after the Restoration Stair went to London, where he was received with favour by Charles, knighted, and included in the new nomination of judges in the Court of Session
Court of Session
The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland, and constitutes part of the College of Justice. It sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh and is both a court of first instance and a court of appeal....

 on 13 February 1661.

He was also put on various important commissions, busied himself with local and agricultural affairs, and, like most of the Scottish judges of this and the following century, acted with zest and credit the part of a good country gentleman. In 1662 he was one of the judges who refused to take the declaration that the National Covenant and the Solemn League and Covenant
Solemn League and Covenant
The Solemn League and Covenant was an agreement between the Scottish Covenanters and the leaders of the English Parliamentarians. It was agreed to in 1643, during the First English Civil War....

 were unlawful oaths, and, forestalling the deposition which had been threatened as the penalty of continued non-compliance, he placed his resignation in the king's hands. The king, however, summoned him to London, and allowed him to take the declaration under an implied reservation.

The next five years of Stair's life were comparatively uneventful, but in 1669 a family calamity, the exact facts of which will probably never be ascertained, overtook him. His daughter Janet, who had been betrothed to Lord Rutherfurd, was married to Dunbar of Baldoon, and some tragic incident occurred on the wedding night, from the effects of which she never recovered. As the traditions vary on the central fact, whether it was the bride who stabbed her husband, or the husband who stabbed the bride, no credence can be given to the mass of superstitions and spiteful slander which surrounded it, principally levelled at Lady Stair. Sir Walter Scott took the plot of his Bride of Lammermoor from this incident, but he disclaimed any intention of making Lord Stair the basis for Sir William Ashton.

In 1670 Stair served as one of the Scottish commissioners who went to London to treat of the Union, but the project, not seriously pressed by Charles and his ministers, broke down through a claim on the part of the Scots to what was deemed an excessive representation in the British parliament. In January 1671 Stair was appointed Lord President of the Court of Session
Lord President of the Court of Session
The Lord President of the Court of Session is head of the judiciary in Scotland, and presiding judge of the College of Justice and Court of Session, as well as being Lord Justice General of Scotland and head of the High Court of Justiciary, the offices having been combined in 1836...

. In the following year, and again in 1673, he was returned to parliament for Wigtownshire
Wigtownshire
Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown is a registration county in the Southern Uplands of south west Scotland. Until 1975, the county was one of the administrative counties used for local government purposes, and is now administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway...

, and took part in the important legislation of those years in the department of private law. During the bad time of Lauderdale's government Stair used his influence in the Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...

 and with Lauderdale to mitigate the severity of the orders passed against ecclesiastical offenders, but for the most part he abstained from attending a board whose policy he could not approve.

In 1679 he went to London to defend the court against charges of partiality and injustice which had been made against it, and was thanked by his brethren for his success. When, in the following year, the Duke of York
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...

 came to Scotland Stair distinguished himself by a bold speech, in which he congratulated the duke on his coming amongst a nation which was entirely Protestant. This speech can have been little relished, and the duke was henceforth his implacable enemy. His influence prevented Stair from being made Chancellor
Lord Chancellor of Scotland
The Lord Chancellor of Scotland was a Great Officer of State in pre-Union Scotland.Holders of the office are known from 1123 onwards, but its duties were occasionally performed by an official of lower status with the title of Keeper of the Great Seal...

 in 1681, on the death of the Duke of Rothes
John Leslie, 1st Duke of Rothes
John Leslie , son of John Leslie, 6th Earl of Rothes, was the 7th Earl of Rothes and 1st Duke of Rothes. He was a descendant of Princess Beatrix, sister of King Malcolm III of Scotland...

.

The parliament of this year, in which Stair again sat, was memorable for two statutes, one in private and the other in public law
Public law
Public law is a theory of law governing the relationship between individuals and the state. Under this theory, constitutional law, administrative law and criminal law are sub-divisions of public law...

. The former, relating to the testing of deed
Deed
A deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, or affirms or confirms something which passes, an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions sealed...

s, was drawn by Stair, and is sometimes called by his name. The other was the infamous Test Act
Test Act
The Test Acts were a series of English penal laws that served as a religious test for public office and imposed various civil disabilities on Roman Catholics and Nonconformists...

, probably the worst of the many measures devised at this period with the object of fettering the conscience by oaths. Stair also had a minor share in the form which this law finally took, but it was confined to the insertion of a definition of "the Protestant religion", by which he hoped to make the test harmless, but his expectation was disappointed. Yet, self-contradictory and absurd as it was, the Test Act was at once rigidly enforced. Argyll
Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll
Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll was a Scottish peer.He was born in 1629 in Dalkeith, Scotland, the son of Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll....

, who declared he took it only insofar as it was consistent with itself and the Protestant religion, was tried and condemned for treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...

 and narrowly saved his life by escaping from Edinburgh Castle the day before that fixed for his execution. Stair, dreading a similar fate, went to London to seek a personal interview with the king, who had more than once befriended him, perhaps remembering his services in the Netherlands, but the Duke of York intercepted his access to the royal ear, and when he returned to Scotland he found a new commission of judges issued, from which his name was omitted.

He retired to his wife's estate in Galloway
Galloway
Galloway is an area in southwestern Scotland. It usually refers to the former counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire...

, and occupied himself with preparing for the press his great work, The Institutions of the Law of Scotland, which he published in the autumn of 1681, with a dedication to the king. He was not, however, allowed to pursue his legal studies in peaceful retirement. His wife was charged with attending conventicle
Conventicle
A conventicle is a small, unofficial and unofficiated meeting of laypeople, to discuss religious issues in a non-threatening, intimate manner. Philipp Jakob Spener called for such associations in his Pia Desideria, and they were the foundation of the German Evangelical Lutheran Pietist movement...

s, his factor
Factor (agent)
A factor, from the Latin "he who does" , is a person who professionally acts as the representative of another individual or other legal entity, historically with his seat at a factory , notably in the following contexts:-Mercantile factor:In a relatively large company, there could be a hierarchy,...

 and tenants
Leasehold estate
A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord....

 severely fined, and he was himself not safe from prosecution at any moment. A fierce dispute arose between Claverhouse
Claverhouse
Claverhouse is an area of Dundee, Scotland. John Graham of Claverhouse , known to history as "Bonnie Dundee" or "Bluidy Clavers" by his supporters and detractors respectively, was the laird of Claverhouse, although he was born at Glen Ogilvie, near Glamis....

 and Stair's son, John, Master of Stair
John Dalrymple, 1st Earl of Stair
John Dalrymple the Master of Stair was a Scottish noble who played a crucial role in the 1707 Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England, that created the Kingdom of Great Britain....

, relative to the regality
Regality
A regality was a territorial jurisdiction in old Scots law which might be created by the King only, by granting lands to a subject in liberam regalitatem, and also the tract of land over which such a right extended....

 of Glenluce
Glenluce
Glenluce is a village in the Scottish area of Dumfries and Galloway.Located on the A75 road between Stranraer and Newton Stewart it is in the traditional county of Wigtownshire. Glenluce Abbey is nearby at ....

, and, both having appealed to the Privy Council, Claverhouse, as might have been expected, was cleared of all the charges brought against him and the Master was deprived of the regality. Stair had still powerful friends, but his opponents were more powerful, and he received advice to quit the country.

He repaired to Holland in October 1684, and took up his residence, along with his wife and some of his younger children, at Leiden. While there he published the Decisions of the Court of Session between 1666 and 1671, of which he had kept a daily record, and a small treatise on natural philosophy, entitled Physiologia nova experimentalis. In his absence a prosecution for treason was raised1 against him and others of the exiles by Sir George Mackenzie
George Mackenzie (lawyer)
Sir George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh, Knt. , known as Bluidy Mackenzie, was a Scottish lawyer, Lord Advocate, and legal writer.- Origins :...

, the Lord Advocate
Lord Advocate
Her Majesty's Advocate , known as the Lord Advocate , is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved powers of the Scottish Parliament...

. He was charged with accession to the rebellion of 1679, the Rye House Plot
Rye House Plot
The Rye House Plot of 1683 was a plan to assassinate King Charles II of England and his brother James, Duke of York. Historians vary in their assessment of the degree to which details of the conspiracy were finalized....

, and the expedition of Argyll. With the first two he had no connexion. With Argyll's unfortunate attempt he had no doubt sympathized, but the only proof of his complicity was slight, and was obtained by torture.

The proceedings against him were never brought to an issue, having been continued by successive adjournments until 1687, when they were dropped. The cause of their abandonment was the appointment of his son, the Master of Stair, who had made his peace with James II, as Lord Advocate in place of Mackenzie, who was dismissed from office for refusing to relax the penal laws against the Roman Catholics. The Master only held office as Lord Advocate for a year, when he was "degraded to be Justice Clerk
Lord Justice Clerk
The Lord Justice Clerk is the second most senior judge in Scotland, after the Lord President of the Court of Session.The holder has the title in both the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary and is in charge of the Second Division of Judges in the Court of Session...

" the king and his advisers finding him not a fit tool for their purpose. Stair remained in Holland till the following year, when he returned under happier auspices in the suite of William of Orange
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...

. William, who had made his acquaintance through Fagel
Gaspar Fagel
Gaspar Fagel was a Dutch statesman, writer and quasi-diplomat who authored correspondence from and on behalf of William III, Prince of Orange during the English Revolution of 1688.-Biography:...

, Grand Pensionary
Grand Pensionary
The Grand Pensionary was the most important Dutch official during the time of the United Provinces. In theory he was only a civil servant of the Estates of the dominant province among the Seven United Provinces: the county of Holland...

 of the States of Holland, was ever afterwards the firm friend of Stair and his family.

The Master was made Lord Advocate, and, on the murder of Lockhart of Carnwath
George Lockhart (advocate)
Sir George Lockhart of Carnwath was a Scottish lawyer.The son of Sir James Lockhart of Lee, laird of Lee, he was admitted as an advocate in 1656. He was knighted in 1663, and was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Advocates in 1672. He was celebrated for his persuasive eloquence...

 in the following year, Stair was again placed at the head of the Court of Session. An unscrupulous opposition, headed by Montgomery of Skelmorlie who coveted the office of Secretary for Scotland, and Lord Ross
William Ross, 12th Lord Ross
William Ross, 12th Lord Ross , was a Scottish nobleman, soldier and politician.-Origins:Ross was born in about 1656. He was the son and heir of George Ross, 11th Lord Ross, who died in 1682, by Grizel, daughter of William Cochrane, 1st Earl of Dundonald...

, who aimed at the presidency of the court, sprang up in the Scottish parliament, and an anonymous pamphleteer, perhaps Montgomery himself or
Ferguson the Plotter, attacked Stair in a pamphlet entitled The Late Proceedings of the Parliament of Scotland Stated and Vindicated. He defended himself by publishing an Apology, which, in the opinion of impartial judges, was a complete vindication. Shortly after its issue he was created Viscount Stair (1690). He had now reached the summit of his prosperity, and the few years which remained of his old age were saddened by private and public cares. In 1692 he lost his wife, the faithful partner of his good and evil fortune for nearly fifty years.

The massacre of the Macdonalds of Glencoe
Massacre of Glencoe
Early in the morning of 13 February 1692, in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution and the Jacobite uprising of 1689 led by John Graham of Claverhouse, an infamous massacre took place in Glen Coe, in the Highlands of Scotland. This incident is referred to as the Massacre of Glencoe, or in...

 (13 February 1692), which has marked his son, the Master of Stair, with a stain which his great services to the state cannot efface--for he was undoubtedly the principal adviser of William in that treacherous and cruel deed, as a signal way of repressing rebellion in the Highlands--was used as an opportunity by his adversaries of renewing their attack on the old president. His own share in the crime was remote. It was alleged that he had as a privy councillor declined to receive Glencoe's oath of allegiance, though tendered, on the technical ground that it was given after the day fixed, but even this was not clearly proved. But some share of the odium which attached to his son was naturally reflected on him. Other grounds of complaint were not difficult to make up, which found willing supporters in the opposition members of parliament.

A disappointed suitor brought in a bill in 1693 complaining of his partiality. He was also accused of domineering over the other judges and of favouring the clients of his sons. Two bills were introduced without naming him but really aimed at him--one to disqualify peers from being judges and the other to confer on the Crown a power to appoint temporary presidents of the court. The complaint against him was remitted to a committee, which, after full inquiry, completely exculpated him, and the two bills, whose incompetency he demonstrated in an able paper addressed to the commission and parliament, were allowed to drop. He was also one of a parliamentary commission which prepared a report on the regulation of the judicatures, afterwards made the basis of a statute in 1695 supplementary to that of 1672, and forming the foundation of the judicial procedure in the Scottish courts for many years.

On 29 November 1695 Stair, who had been for some time in failing health, died in Edinburgh, aged 76, and was buried in the church of St Giles.

In 1695 there was published in London a small volume with the title A Vindication of the Divine Perfections, Illustrating the Glory of God in them by Reason and Revelation, methodically digested By a Person of Honour. It was edited by the two Nonconformist divines, William Bates and John Howe, who had been in exile in the Netherlands along with Stair, and is undoubtedly his work. Perhaps it had been a sketch of the " Inquiry Concerning Natural Theology " which he had contemplated writing in 1681. It is of no value as a theological work, for Stair was no more a theologian than he was a man of science, but it is of interest as showing the serious bent of his thoughts and the genuine piety of his character.

Works

Stair's major legal work, The Institutions of the Law of Scotland deduced from its Originals, and collated with the Civil, Canon and Feudal Laws and with the Customs of Neighbouring Nations, shows influences from his philosophical training, his foreign travels, and Continental jurists as well as English lawyers. Its name lives on in the Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia
Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia
The Laws of Scotland: Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia is the authoritative source for law in Scotland. It incorporates law derived from every source and, while concentrating on the specialities of Scots law, it also covers law common to the whole of the United Kingdom...

, which provides a contemporary statement of the Laws of Scotland.

The Physiologia was favourably noticed by Robert Boyle
Robert Boyle
Robert Boyle FRS was a 17th century natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, and inventor, also noted for his writings in theology. He has been variously described as English, Irish, or Anglo-Irish, his father having come to Ireland from England during the time of the English plantations of...

.

Offspring

Stair was fortunate in his descendants. "The family of Dalrymple", observed Sir Walter Scott
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....

,
"produced within two centuries as many men of talent, civil and military, of literary, political and professional eminence, as any house in Scotland."

His five sons were all remarkable in their professions:
  • John, Master of Stair
    John Dalrymple, 1st Earl of Stair
    John Dalrymple the Master of Stair was a Scottish noble who played a crucial role in the 1707 Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England, that created the Kingdom of Great Britain....

     (1648-1707), who was succeeded as 2nd Viscount of Stair and was later created 1st Earl of Stair in 1703, an able lawyer and politician, who is, however, principally remembered for his part in the massacre of Glencoe, is dealt with above.
  • Sir James Dalrymple, 1st Baronet
    Sir James Dalrymple, 1st Baronet
    Sir James Dalrymple, 1st Baronet was the son of the jurist James Dalrymple, 1st Viscount Stair .He is known for contributing to the debate over the Union between England and Scotland in his 'Collections Concerning the Scottish History '-References:*...

    , created a baronet in 1698, was one of the principal Clerks of Session, and a very thorough and accurate historical antiquary.
  • Sir Hew Dalrymple
    Hew Dalrymple, Lord North Berwick
    Sir Hew Dalrymple, Lord North Berwick was a Scottish judge and politician.The third son of James Dalrymple, 1st Viscount of Stair, he was Commissary of Edinburgh; Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland for New Galloway burgh from 1690, and for North Berwick burgh from 1702.Dalrymple was Dean...

     of North Berwick (1652-1737) succeeded his father as president, and was reckoned one of the best lawyers and speakers of his time. He, too, was created a baronet in 1698.
  • Thomas Dalrymple became physician to Queen Anne
    Anne of Great Britain
    Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...

    .
  • Sir David Dalrymple, 1st Baronet
    Sir David Dalrymple, 1st Baronet
    Sir David Dalrymple of Hailes, 1st Baronet was a Scottish and British politician, Lord Advocate of Scotland, and eventually Auditor of the Exchequer in Scotland....

     (1665-1721), who was created a baronet in 1701, was Lord Advocate under Anne and George I
    George I of Great Britain
    George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....

    . In 1709 he bought a fine Palladian mansion house, Whitehill (designed and built by the Scottish architect James Smith 1645-1731)), from Lord Bellenden and renamed it Newhailes. It stands to this day near Musselburgh, East lothian, not far from Edinburgh. His grandson was the famous judge and historian, Lord Hailes
    David Dalrymple, Lord Hailes
    Sir David Dalrymple, 3rd Baronet, Lord Hailes was a Scottish advocate, judge and historian, born in Edinburgh.-Family:...

    .


Stair's grandson, John
John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair
Field Marshal John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair KT PC was a Scottish soldier and diplomat.-Military career:Despite being born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Dalrymple spent his early life mostly in the Netherlands and he studied at Leiden University...

 (1673-1747), rose to be a field-marshal and gained equal credit in war and diplomacy. He was ambassador in Paris (1715-1720), and, besides seeing service under Marlborough
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Prince of Mindelheim, KG, PC , was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reigns of five monarchs through the late 17th and early 18th centuries...

, was commander-in-chief of the British forces on the Continent in 1742, showing great gallantry at Dettingen
Battle of Dettingen
The Battle of Dettingen took place on 27 June 1743 at Dettingen in Bavaria during the War of the Austrian Succession. It was the last time that a British monarch personally led his troops into battle...

. He had no son, and in 1707 had selected his nephew John (1720-1789) as heir to the title, but through a decision of the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

 in 1748 he only became 5th Earl, after his cousin James
James Dalrymple, 3rd Earl of Stair
James Dalrymple, 3rd Earl of Stair , was the son of Colonel Hon. William Dalrymple of Glenmure and Penelope Crichton, Countess of Dumfries. He succeeded his uncle John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair, but was required to bring a legal action to establish his right to the title, as his uncle had...

 and James's son had succeeded as 3rd and 4th Earls. John's son, the 6th Earl, died without issue, and a cousin again succeeded as 7th Earl, his two sons becoming 8th and 9th Earls. The 8th Earl (1771–1853) was a general in the army, and Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. The 9th Earl's son
John Hamilton Dalrymple, 10th Earl of Stair
Sir John Hamilton Dalrymple, 10th Earl of Stair KT was a Scottish peer and politician, styled as Viscount Dalrymple from 1853 until 1864, who served as Governor of the Bank of Scotland for thirty-three years....

 and grandson succeeded as l0th and 11th Earls.

Published works

  • An apology for Sir James Dalrymple of Stair, President of the Session, by himself ... Edinburgh, 1690 (which responds to the pamphlet by Robert Ferguson: The late proceedings and votes of the Parliament of Scotland)
  • The decisions of the Lords of Council & Session, in the most important cases debate before them, with the Acts of Sederunt. As also, an alphabetical compend of the decisions, with an index of the Acts of Sederunt, and the pursuers and defenders names. From June 1661. to July 1681. ... observed by Sir James Dalrymple of Stair. 2 vols. Edinburgh, 1683
  • The institutions of the law of Scotland, deduced from its originals, and collated with the civil, canon and feudal laws; and with the customs of neighbouring nations ... . Edinburgh, 1681 (which includes his:Modus litigandi, or form of process observed before the Lords of Council and Session in Scotland. Edinburgh, 1681)
  • The institutions of the law of Scotland, deduced from its originals, and collated with the civil, canon and feudal laws, and with the customs of neighbouring nations. 2nd ed. Edinburgh, 1693
  • The institutions of the law of Scotland, deduced from its originals, and collated with the civil, and feudal-laws, and with the customs of neighbouring nations. 3rd ed. Edinburgh, 1759
  • The institutions of the law of Scotland deduced from its originals and collated with the civil, canon and feudal laws and with the customs of neighbouring nations. New ed. 2 vols. Edinburgh, 1832.
  • The institutions of the law of Scotland deduced from its originals, and collated with the civil, canon and feudal laws, and with the customs of neighbouring nations … ; edited by David M. Walker. Edinburgh : University Presses of Edinburgh and Glasgow, 1981. ISBN 0-85224-397-9 (Text based on the 1693 edition)
  • The laws of Scotland : Stair memorial encyclopaedia. Edinburgh : Butterworths, 1999-
  • Physiologia nova experimentalis in qua generales notiones Aristotelis, Epicuri, & Cartesii supplentur errores deteguntur & emendantur …. Lugduni-Batavorum [Leiden], [1686]

Further reading

  • J.M. Graham: Annals and correspondence of the Viscount and the first and second Earls of Stair, Edinburgh, 1875, 2 volumes.
  • AJG Mackay, Memoir of Sir James Dalrymple, first Viscount Stair ...: a study in the history of Scotland and Scotch law during the seventeenth century. Edinburgh, 1873
  • Sir James Balfour Paul
    James Balfour Paul
    Sir James Balfour Paul, KCVO was the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the officer responsible for heraldry in Scotland, from 1890 until the end of 1926....

    : The Scots' Peerage, founded on Wood's edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland, Edinburgh, 9 vols., 1904-1914

External links

  • The Stair Society - founded in 1934 "to encourage the study and to advance the knowledge of Scots law."
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK