fortlesse of all provision; which provision for the wives of the ministers after their deceasse, is to be remitted to the discretion of the kirk,

2. Difficile it is to appoint a several stipend to every minister, by reason that the charge and necessitie of all will not be alike: For some will be continuers in one place, some will be compelled to travel and oft to change their dwelling place, if they shall have charge of divers kirks; among these some will be burdened with wife and children, and one with moe then others, and some perhaps will be single men; if equal stipends should be appointed to these that in charge should be so unequall, either should the one suffer penurie, or else should the other have superfluitie and too much. We judge therefore that every minister have sufficient whereupon to keep an house and be sustained honestly in all things necessarie, as bookes, cloathes, flesh, fish, fewell, and other things necessarie, [forth] of the rents and treasurie of the kirk [where he serveth,] at the discretion of the congregation, conforme to the qualitie of the person and necessity of the time. Wherein it is thought good that every minister shall have at least fourtie bolls meale, *twenty six bolls malt, to finde his house bread and drinke; and more, so much as the discretion of the church findes necessarie: besides money for buying of other provisions to his house and other ne cessaries; the modification whereof is referred to the judgement of the kirk, to be made every yeare at the choosing of the elders and deacons of the kirk. Providing alwaies that there be advanced to every minister, sufficient provision for a quarter of a yeare beforehand of all things.

3. But to him that travels from place to place, whom we call superintendent, who remaines as it were a month or lesse in one place for establishing of the kirk, and for the same purpose changing to another, must [further] consideration be had. And therefore to such we thinke sixe chalders beere, nine chalders meale, three chalders oates,+

• Some copies have only twenty bolls malt.

money.

Some copies add, for provand to his horse, and have only 500 merks of

sixe hundreth merks money, to be eiked and paired at the discretion of the prince and councell of the realme, to be payd to him in manner foresaid.

4. The children of the ministers, must have the liberties of the cities next adjacent, where their fathers laboured, freely granted. They must have the priviledges in schooles, and bursisses in colledges, that is, that they shall be sustained at learning, if they be found apt thereto; and failing thereof they [must] be put to some handiecraft, or exercised in some vertuous industry, whereby they may be profitable members of the commonwealth; and the same we require of their daughters, to wit, that they be vertuously brought up, and honestly doted when they come to maturity of years, at the discretion of the kirk. And this, in God's presence we witnesse, we require not so much for our selves, or for any that appertaine to us, as that we do it for the increase of vertue and learning, and for the profite of the posterity to come; [for] it is not to be supposed that any man will dedicate himselfe and his children so to God and to his kirk, that they look for no worldly commodity; but this cankered nature which we beare, is provoked to follow vertue when it seeth profite and honour thereto annexed; and contrarily, then is vertue by many despised when vertuous and godly men are without honour; and sorry would we be that poverty should discourage men from studie, and following of the way of vertue, by which they might edifie the kirk and flock of Christ Jesus.

5. Nothing have we spoken of the stipend of readers, because if they can do nothing but reade, they neither can be called nor judged true ministers, and yet regard must be had to their labours; but so that they may be spurred forward to vertue, and not by any stipend appointed for their reading to be retained in that estate. To a reader therefore that is newly entred, fourty merkes, or more or lesse, as parishioners and readers can agree, is sufficient: Provided that he teach the children of the parish, which he must doe, besides the reading of the common prayers,* and bookes of the Old and New Tes

* That is, the prayers which were printed with the Psalm Book.

tament.

If from reading he begin to exhort and explain the Scriptures, then ought his stipend to be augmented, till finally he come to the honour of a minister: But if he be found unable after two yeares, then must he be removed from that office, and discharged of all stipend, that another may be proved as long; for this alwaies is to be avoided, that none who is judged unable to come at any time to some reasonable knowledge, whereby he may edifie the kirk, shall be perpetually susteined upon the charge of the kirk. Farther it must be avoided, that no child, nor person within age, that is, within twentie one yeares of age, be admitted to the office of a reader; but readers ought to be endued with gravity and discretion, lest by their lightnesse the prayers or Scriptures read be of lesse price or estimation. It is to be noted that the reader be put in the kirk by the admission of the superintendent. The other sort of readers, who have long continued in [the course of ] godliness, and have some gift of exhortation, who are of hope to attain to the degree of a minister, and [who] teach the children; we think an hundred merkes, or more or lesse at the discretion of the kirk, may be appointed; so that difference be made, as said is, betwixt them and the ministers that openly preaches the word and ministers the sacraments.

6. Rests yet two sorts of people to be provided for upon that which is called the patrimony of the kirk, to wit, the poore, and teachers of the youthhead. Every several kirk must provide for the poore within it self; for fearful and horrible it is, that the poore, whom not onely God the Father in his law, but Christ Jesus in his Evangel, and the Holy Spirit speaking by St Paul hath so earnestly commended to our care, are universally so contemned and despised. We are not patrons for stubborne and idle beggars, who, running from place to place, make a craft of their begging, whom the civill magistrate ought to [compel to work, or then] punish: But for the widow and fatherlesse, the aged, impotent or lamed, who neither can nor may travell for their sustentation, we say that God commands his people to be careful; and therefore for such, as also for persons of honestie fallen into decay

and poverty, ought such provision to be made, that of our aboundance their indigence may be relieved. How this most conveniently and most easilie may be done in every citie, and other parts of this realme, God will shew you wisdome and the meanes, so that your mindes be godly inclined thereto. All must not be suffered to beg that gladly would so doe, neither yet must beggars remain where they would, but the stout and strong beggars must be compelled to worke; and every person that may not worke, must be compelled to repair to the place where he or she was borne, unlesse of long continuance they have remained in one place; and there reasonable provision must be made for [their] sustentation, as the kirk shall appoint. The order nor summes, in our judgements, cannot particularly be appointed, until such times as the poore of every citie, town and parish be compelled to repaire to the places where they were borne, or of their residence, where their names and number must be taken and put in roll, and then may the wisedom of the kirk appoint stipends accordingly.

CHAP. VI.

I. The Head of the Superintendents.

1. Because we have appointed a larger stipend to them that shall be superintendents than to the rest of the ministers; we have thought good to signifie to your honours, such reasons as moved us to make difference betwixt preachers at this time; as also how many superintendents we think necessarie, with their bounds, office, [the manner of their] election, and [the] causes that may deserve deposition from that charge.

2. We consider that if the ministers whom God hath endowed with his singular graces amongst us, should be appointed to severall places there to make their continuall residence, that then the greatest part of the realme should be destitute of all doctrine; which should not onely be the occasion of great murmur, but also be dangerous to the salvation of many. And therefore we have

thought it a thing most expedient at this time, that from the whole number of godly and learned men, now presently in this realme, be selected ten or twelve, (for in so many provinces we have divided the whole,) to whom charge and commandement should be given to plant and erect kirkes, to set, order, and appoint ministers as the former order prescribes, to the countries that shall be appointed to their care where none are now; and by their meanes, your love and common care over all [the] inhabitants of this realme, to whom you are equally debtors, shall evidently appear; as also the simple and ignorant, who perchance have never heard Jesus Christ truely preached, shall come to some knowledge, by the which many that are dead in superstition and ignorance shall attaine to some feeling of godlinesse, by the which they may be provoked to search and seek farther knowledge of God, and his true religion and worshipping; whereas by the contrary, if they shall be neglected, then shall they not onely grudge, but also seeke the meanes whereby they may continue in their blindness, or return to their accustomed idolatry. And therefore nothing we desire more earnestly, than that Christ Jesus be universally once preached throughout this realme, which shall not suddenly be, unlesse that by you, men be appointed and compelled, faithfully to travell in such provinces as to them shall be assigned.

II. The names of the places of residence, and severall Diocesses of the Superintendents.

1. Imprimis, the superintendent of Orknay, whose diocesse shall comprehend the isles of [Orknay and] Zetland, with Cathnes and Stranaver, his residence to be in Kirkwall.

2. The superintendent of Rosse, whose diocesse shall comprehend Rosse, Sutherland, Murray, with the North Isles of Skie and Lewes, with the adjacents, his residence to be in the channonrie of Rosse.

3. The superintendent of Argyle, whose diocesse shall comprehend Argyle, Kyntyre, Lorn, the South Isles,