53 Sentences With "sheriff depute" | Random Sentence Generator

A gentleman named William Paterson witnessed a charter in 1446 in Aberdeen. In 1563 James Paterson was sheriff-depute of Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. He later became Provost of Inverness.

The hereditary sheriff later delegated his judicial functions to a trained lawyer called a sheriff-depute. The Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746 abolished the office of hereditary sheriff and the sheriff-depute soon became sheriff principal.Edwin R. Keedy, "Criminal Procedure in Scotland", (1913) 3 (5) Journal of the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology 728 via JSTOR accessed 22 October 2011.W. E. Dodds, "A Few Comparisons between English and Scots Law" (1926) 8 (4) Journal of Comparative Legislation and International Law, Third Series 184 via JSTOR accessed 22 October 2011.

Sir Walter Scott was appointed Sheriff-Depute of the County of Selkirk in 1799, and was based in the Royal Burgh's courthouse in the town square. The Sir Walter Scott Way from Moffat to Cockburnspath passes through Selkirk.

He married Anne Mackenzie (with 5,000 merks), daughter of Mackenzie of Fairburn, Ross-shire in June 1695. By 1704, Mackenzie was appointed Sheriff depute for Ross-shire. He was returned as Shire Commissioner for Ross-shire at a by election in 1704.

He was educated at the High School in Edinburgh then studied law at the University of Edinburgh. He passed the Scottish Bar as an advocate in 1785. In 1793 he became Sheriff Depute of Edinburghshire. In 1809 he became a Baron of the Exchequer.

Before 1677 he was appointed sheriff- depute of Renfrewshire. He died at Paisley in March 1682. Sempill wrote many occasional pieces, and his fame as a wit was widespread. Among his most important works is the Banishment of Poverty, which contains some biographical details.

Later that month Captain Hughes reported that a party of fully armed Highlanders had been plundering at Killiecrankie. They were chased as far as Aberfeldy but they escaped because the soldiers could get no help from the local people. However, two of the men were later captured at Killin, but while the Corporal was conducting the two offenders to Captain Hughes he was met by the sheriff depute and a mob. The sheriff depute ordered the soldiers to release the two prisoners or he would put the soldiers in prison and at the same time "abuse" them for "molesting" people for wearing dress that he thought should be tolerated.

The last trial was held in the court of a sheriff-depute at Dornoch in 1727, and was of questionable legality. The British parliament repealed the 1563 Act in 1736, making the legal pursuit of witches impossible. Nevertheless, basic magical beliefs persisted, particularly in the Highlands and Islands.

As a result, Laurence Bruce was removed from office. But by June of the following year, he had returned to the islands as "sheriff-depute". Laurence Bruce is best known as the builder of Muness Castle, which was completed around 1598. Muness Castle, now a ruin, is the most northerly castle in Great Britain.

Mackay of Aberach Family Tree Rev. William Mackay, VII of Aberach was the minister of Dornoch. A document from 1673 records him as the ‘’Aberach chieftain’’. He married Jane, daughter of John Dunbar, Ballie of Elgin and left three sons: John; George, Sheriff-Depute of Moray; and Hugh, all of whom died without issue.

Ch. 7: Relations between Ellangowan and the gipsies on his land deterioriate. Ch. 8: The gipsies are evicted, provoking a dramatic rebuke by Meg. Ch. 9: Francis Kennedy is killed after interrupting smugglers, and Harry Bertram whom he has taken with him disappears. Ch. 10: An investigation by the Sheriff-Depute draws a blank.

The son of David Smythe of Methven (d.1764), and Mary Graham, daughter of James Graham of Braco, he was born at the family home of Methven Castle on 17 January 1746. Having studied for the law, he was admitted advocate on 4 August 1769. From 1786 to 1793 he served as Sheriff Depute of Perthshire.

He was born in Brechin, Forfarshire on 29 April 1766,Monuments and monumental inscriptions in Scotland: The Grampian Society, !871 the son of Margaret (née Smith) and Robert Gillies, he was the younger brother of historian John Gillies. Gillies was admitted an advocate on 14 July 1787. From 1806, he was the sheriff-depute of Kincardineshire.

Sheriffs principal are those sheriffs who have held office over a sheriffdom, whether through inheritance or through direct appointment by the Crown. Thus, hereditary sheriff (before 1746) and sheriff-depute (after 1746) are the precursors to the modern office of sheriff principal. The precursor to the modern office of sheriff was historically referred to as sheriff substitute.

He was born in Edinburgh the son of John Bell WS, a lawyer on 9 March 1776 (the Dictionary of National Biography states 1755). Admitted a member of the faculty of advocates, Edinburgh in 1795, he was appointed Sheriff-Depute of Ayrshire in August 1815. In 1821 he was elected a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. In 1833 he became a member of the Highland Society.

The old lady died 6 days later. Eric Richards suggests that the old woman was carried to an outbuilding before the house was destroyed. Whatever the facts of the matter, Sellar was charged with culpable homicide and arson, in respect of this incident and others during this clearance. The charges were brought by Robert Mackid, the Sheriff Depute, driven by the enmity he held for Sellar for catching him poaching.

A facsimile of the arms of "Mc: aula of Arncapelle".Stodart 1881, 1: p. 115. During the 16th century members of Clan MacAulay were in conflict with members of clans Buchanan and Galbraith. On 1 August 1590, Walter MacAulay, son of Allan MacAulay of Durling, was killed on the "Highway and street of Dunbarton" in a clash against a contingent of Buchanans, who were led by Thomas Buchanan, Sheriff Depute of Dunbarton.

Adam Hay (after 1684 – 15 November 1775) was a Scottish officer in the British Army and a politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1767 and 1775. He was the second surviving of John Hay of Haystoun, sheriff-depute of Peebles. His first marriage was to a Miss Britland of Nottingham. His second wife was Caroline Lucy Harpur, the daughter of Sir Henry Harpur, 5th Baronet and brother of Sir Henry Harpur, 6th Baronet.

Cranstoun was likely born at his father's estate, Longwarton. He was baptised in Ancrum, Roxburghshire, Scotland, the second son of the Hon. George Cranstoun of Longwarton, seventh son of William Cranstoun, 5th Lord Cranstoun, and Maria, daughter of Thomas Brisbane of Brisbane, Ayrshire. He was originally intended for the military profession, however was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates on 2 February 1793, was appointed a depute-advocate in 1805, and sheriff-depute of Sutherland in 1806.

His father died in 1746, predeceasing his grandfather, who died in 1753, therefore, his elder brother Daniel was his grandfather's heir. When Daniel died, unmarried and without issue, in 1777, Walter inherited the estate and became 3rd of Shawfield and Laird of Islay, Scotland. He qualified as an advocate in 1763 and was Sheriff-Depute of Kincardineshire from 1767 to 1777. He was recognised by Lord Lyon King of Arms, and matriculated his arms at the Lyon Court in 1777.

Dougal's grandson was Fergus, third of Garthland who during the reign of David II of Scotland was sheriff depute for Kirkcudbright. His grandson was Sir Fergus Macdowall, the fifth Laird who in 1401 was taken prisoner at the Battle of Homildon by the English. Uchtred, the ninth of Garthland married Isobel Gordon of the branch of the Clan Gordon who controlled Lochinver. However he and his son Thomas were both killed at the Battle of Flodden in 1513 along with James IV of Scotland.

An Historical Account of the Senators of the College of Justice: Brunton, Haig and Lockhart He was appointed Sheriff-Depute of Peebles in 1747. He served as MP for Dumfriesshire from 1755 to 1760. In 1761 he was elected a Senator of the College of Justice in the place of Andrew Macdowal, Lord Bankton. He was Commissioner for Forfeited Estates in 1769, as Deputy Governor of the Royal Bank of Scotland (1776–), and as a member of the Board of Trustees for Manufactures & Fisheries (1777–).

Sheriffdoms were originally identical to the shires of Scotland, originating in the twelfth century. Until the eighteenth century the office of sheriff was often hereditary, but this was ended following the unsuccessful Jacobite Rising of 1745. The Heritable Jurisdictions Act 1747 revested the government of the shires in the Crown, compensating those office holders who were displaced. The Sheriffs (Scotland) Act 1747 reduced the office of sheriff principal to a largely ceremonial one, with a sheriff depute or sheriff substitute appointed to each "county, shire or stewartry".

After the Jacobite rising of 1745 the Dress Act 1746 was passed by George II of Great Britain making it illegal, as of 1 August 1747, for any man or boy to wear Highland dress. However, there was a lack of cooperation, as the military saw it, of the civilian authorities to bring in offenders. Captain Hughes of Pulteney's Regiment reported from his headquarters at Loch Rannoch in August 1749 that the local sheriff depute had been dismissing individuals taken before him for wearing Highland dress.

He stepped down as MP in 1786, when he was appointed Auditor of the Excise in Scotland 1786, holding this post until his death. He changed his name to Hamilton-Dalrymple in 1796 when he inherited the estate of Bargany from his uncle, John Hamilton (formerly Dalrymple). He married in 1770 his cousin Janet, the daughter of William Duff of Crombie, sheriff depute of Ayrshire, and had eight sons and four daughters. He was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, Sir Hew Dalrymple-Hamilton, 4th Baronet.

He was born in Dunbarney House the second son of Anne Craigie and her husband and cousin, John Craigie of Kilgraston, son of Lawerence Craigie (a Baron of the Exchequer). He trained as a lawyer and became an advocate in July 1776. He appears in Edinburgh around 1785 as an advocate living and working from Covenant Close (166 High Street) on the Royal Mile.Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1785 In 1786 he was appointed as Sheriff Depute of Orkney and in 1791 as Sheriff of Dumfriesshire.

Forbes was born in Edinburgh on 19 September 1776 the second son of Sir William Forbes, 6th Baronet, and his wife Elizabeth Hay. He studied Law at Edinburgh University and was admitted to the Scottish Bar as an advocate in 1799. He was appointed Sheriff Depute of Perthshire in 1807, and was made Lord of Session in January 1825, when he assumed the courtesy title of Lord Medwyn, from his estate in Perthshire. In the 1830s he is listed as living at 17 Ainslie Place on the Moray Estate in the west end of Edinburgh.

Wilson was a cultured man of wide interests. He belonged to The Scottish Arts Club, where he was flattered to be known as 'the Shirra' (a colloquial Scots form of 'Sheriff'), as one of his admired writers, Sir Walter Scott, Sheriff-Depute of Selkirkshire, had been before him. He was widely read in literature, both English and Scots, as well as the Classics on which he had been educated. An accomplished amateur painter in both water-colour and oils, he was on a painting holiday in Dubrovnik when he died at his easel.

It is set down in the History of the Speculative Society that he read a paper there on 30 November 1790 on "The Effects of Taxation on the Necessaries of Life." He qualified as an Advocate in 1791, and became Sheriff-Depute of Berwickshire in 1809. In 1813 he succeeded William Craig, Lord Craig as Lord of Session 1813, and in 1816 he succeeded Lord Meadowbank as Lord of Justiciary, at which point he adopted the title Lord Reston. He was also a Senator of the Royal College of Justice.

"The Sang of the Outlaw Murray" is a lay that may have been composed in the reign of James V and which was collected by Walter Scott. Local tradition held that the events took place in the vicinity of Newark Castle, although Scott himself believed that the old tower at Hangingshaw, a seat of the Philiphaugh family near Yarrowford, was the correct location. He was assured by "the late excellent antiquarian Mr. Plummer, sheriff-depute of Selkirkshire... that he remembered the insignia of the unicorns, &c.; so often mentioned in the ballad, in existence" there.

Johnston was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1942 and quickly established a substantial and varied practice which he developed during the forties and fifties. He served as an Advocate Depute from 1953 to 1955 to the Crown Office and became a Queens Counsel (Scotland) in 1955. In 1959 he unsuccessfully contested the Stirling and Falkirk burghs constituency in the general election as a Unionist candidate. He served as Home Advocate Depute between 1959 and 1962 and as the Sheriff-Depute of Roxburgh, Berwick and Selkirk from 1964 to 1970.

There is no upper limit to the size of case handled by a sheriff, with almost all family actions taking place in the sheriff court. Sheriffs also preside over fatal accident inquiries which are convened to examine the circumstances around sudden or suspicious deaths, including those who die in the course of employment, in custody, or in secure accommodation. A sheriff must be legally qualified, and been qualified as an advocate or solicitor for at least 10 years. The office of sheriff (historically, sheriff-substitute or sheriff depute) evolved as a legally qualified person appointed by the hereditary sheriff principal (historically, sheriff).

He was admitted a member of the Faculty of Advocates in 1766, and was soon afterwards (1770) appointed sheriff-depute of his native county. Personal residence, however, not being required, he continued the practice of his profession at the bar. In 1780 he resigned his sheriffship and was appointed one of the advocates-depute by Henry Dundas, then Lord Advocate of Scotland, and acquired a good practice. He also helped Henry Mackenzie, the author of the Man of Feeling, to start the Mirror, published at Edinburgh in 1779, and contributed to the Lounger in 1785 and 1786.

Scott dedicated to Erskine the third canto of Marmion, which was published in February 1808. Erskine was appointed sheriff depute of Orkney on 6 June 1809, and in 1814 Scott accompanied him and other friends on a voyage to Orkney. Lockhart ascribes to Erskine the critical estimate of the Waverley novels included in Scott's own notice in the Quarterly Review of Old Mortality, in answer to the sectarian attacks of Thomas M'Crie the Elder against his representation of the covenanters. By Scott's unwearied exertions on his behalf Erskine was in January 1822 promoted to the bench as Lord Kinneder.

The grave of James Erskine, Lord Alva, St Cuthberts Churchyard, Edinburgh He was born in Edinburgh, the son of Charles Erskine, Lord Tinwald, Lord Justice Clerk of Scotland,An Historical Account of the Senators of the College of Justice: Brunton, Haig and Lockhart and his wife, Grisel Grierson.Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564–1950 He became an advocate in 1743 and made Sheriff- Depute of Perthshire in 1748. In 1754 he became a Baron of the Exchequer and in 1758 Knight Marshal of Scotland. In 1761 he replaced Patrick Boyle, Lord Shewalton as a Senator of the College of Justice.

Scots played a major part in the development of teacher education. Andrew Bell (1753–1832) pioneered the Monitorial System, by which the more able pupils would pass on the information they had learned to other children and which developed into the pupil-teacher system of training. It was further developed by John Wood, Sheriff-Depute of Peebles, who tended to favour fierce competition in the classroom and strict discipline. In contrast David Stow (1793–1864), who founded the first infant school in Scotland, in Glasgow in 1828, emphasised the importance of play and was highly influential on the development of the idea of school playgrounds.

Bruce was born at Kennet House in Clackmannanshire on 24 December 1718, the son of Mary Balfour, daughter of Robert Balfour, 4th Lord Burleigh and Alexander Bruce of Kennet (died 1747).An Historical Account of the Senators of the College of Justice: Brunton, Haig and Lockhart He was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in January 1743. He served as Professor of Law of Nature and Nations at the University of Edinburgh (1758–64) and was appointed Sheriff-Depute of Stirling & Clackmannan in 1760. He was elected a Senator of the College of Justice, as Lord Kennet, in 1764 and Lord of Justiciary in 1769.

Ad vitam aut culpam is a Latin phrase found in Scots law which meaning "for life or until fault" which guarantees the right of a Sheriff Depute (judge) to hold office permanently or until they forfeit such by misconduct. The Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746 used the phrase to guarantee a Sheriff's term office after they have held office for seven years.Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746 The applicability of this law was decided upon by the House of Lords in the case Stewart v. Secretary of State For Scotland where it was stated that it did not protect a Sheriff from dismissal for inability.

Scots played a major part in the development of teacher education. Andrew Bell (1753–1832) pioneered the Monitorial System, by which the more able pupils would pass on the information they had learned to other children and which developed into the pupil-teacher system of training. It was further developed by John Wood, Sheriff-Depute of Peebles, who tended to favour fierce competition in the classroom and strict discipline. In contrast David Stow (1793–1864), who founded the first infant school in Scotland, in Glasgow in 1828, focused on the bond between teacher and child and advocated the "Glasgow method", which centred on trained adult teachers.

At first, only the sheriff of the Lothians and Peebles (who sat at Edinburgh) and the sheriff of Lanarkshire (who sat at Glasgow) were full-time appointments. Since the part-time sheriff-depute was not compelled to reside within his sheriffdom and could carry on his practice as advocate, it became common for a depute to appoint a sheriff-substitute who acted in his absence. Over time, the judicial duties of the depute were entirely assumed by the substitute and the depute became a judge of appeal from the decisions of his substitute. The Sheriff Court (Scotland) Act 1870 combined the thirty counties of Scotland into fifteen sheriffdoms.

The Heritable Jurisdictions Act 1747 revested the government of the shires in the Crown, compensating those office holders who were displaced. The Sheriffs (Scotland) Act 1747 reduced the office of sheriff principal to a largely ceremonial one, with a sheriff depute or sheriff substitute appointed to each "county, shire or stewartry". Twelve of the smallest counties were paired to form sheriffdoms, a process of amalgamation that was to continue until the twentieth century, and thus led to the sheriffdoms and the shires having different boundaries. In 1794 Lord-Lieutenants were appointed to each county, and in 1797 county militia regiments were raised, bringing Scotland into line with England, Wales and Ireland.

The lands in 1640 lay in the Bailliary of Kilwinning and the regality of Torphichen; regality being defined as a territorial jurisdiction of a royal nature conferred by the sovereign, here the jurisdiction was over lands which had belonged to the Knights Templar. The regality was called Temple-Cuninghame. Hew (Hugh) Montgomerie of Silverwood was the brother of Robert Montgomerie of Hessilhead and in 1672 he was heir to the hereditary bailieship of all the Temple lands and tenements within the Bailiary of Cuninghame and regality of Kilwinning. He was Sheriff Depute of Renfrewshire and as such was involved in a number of contemporary court cases.Siverwood Papers(1670).

Sir Archibald Stewart of Blackhall, Laird of Ardgowan had applied to the Privy Council for a Royal Enquiry into the practice of witchcraft in the Inverkip area. During this later period of witch persecution the right to assemble a number of commissions of justiciary was granted by the Privy Council to gentlemen in every county. The enquiries preceding the commissions of justiciary were supplementary to the regular enquiries instituted by the State and Church. The Royal Enquiry relevant to Marie Lamont appointed a commission of nine men, one of whom was Sir Archibald Stewart the Sheriff Depute of Perth- a man who was probably a relative of Sir Archibald Stewart the Younger of Blackhall.

The other members of the commission were John Brisbane the Younger of Bishopton, Cornelius Crawford of Jordanhill, Alexander Cuningham of Craigends (a church elder), Sir George Maxwell of Nether Pollok, Hugh Montgomery of Silverwood (another Sheriff Depute), Robert Montgomery of Hazlehead, John Porterfield the Younger of that Ilk, and Archibald Stewart of Scotstown. Sir Archibald Stewart of Blackhall himself was not part of the commission but nevertheless was present at the trial. The Reverend John Hamilton, minister at Inverkip between 1626–1664, was also involved in Marie's case but is not listed as being part of the commission. The Rev Hamilton was known to be a 'zealous persecutor of witches'and by the end of his career had adopted a radical approach to Presbyterianism.

On 25 March 1780 he was appointed sheriff depute of Fife and Kinross, and, after serving this office for 19 years was, upon the death of James Burnett, Lord Monboddo, appointed an lord of session, and took his seat upon the bench with the title of Lord Balmuto on 21 June 1799. After nearly 23 years of judicial work he resigned in January 1822, and was succeeded by William Erskine, Lord Kinneder. The death, under his own roof, of his kinsman, Sir Alexander Boswell, from the effects of a wound received by him in the duel with James Stuart of Dunearn, gave him a shock from which he never entirely recovered. He died at Balmuto on 22 July 1824, in his 83rd year.

Lord George Murray (1694-1760), sixth son of John Murray, 1st Duke of Atholl, was a Scottish nobleman and soldier who took part in the Jacobite rebellions of 1715, 1719, and played a senior role in that of 1745. Pardoned in 1725, he returned to Scotland, where he married and in 1739 took the Oath of Allegiance to George II. When the 1745 Rising began, Murray was appointed sheriff depute to Sir John Cope, government commander in Scotland but then joined the Jacobite army when it arrived in Perth on 3 September. As one of their senior commanders, he made a substantial contribution to their early success, particularly reaching and successfully returning from Derby. However, previous links with the government meant many viewed him with suspicion, while his support for the 1707 Union set him apart from the majority of Scottish Jacobites.

A week after the meeting of 27 July, about 400 men from the surrounding districts were driving six thousand sheep from the counties of Ross and Sutherland towards Beauly in the county of Inverness-shire. The sheriff-depute of the county, Donald MacLeod, wrote to the Lord Advocate, asking that a force of the 42nd (Black Watch) Regiment from the army be sent north to defeat what MacLeod viewed as open rebellion. The Lord Advocate wrote to the Home Secretary Henry Dundas reporting that sheep farming was very unpopular in the Highlands, as it ‘tended to remove the inhabitants from their small possessions and dwelling houses’. The Home Secretary replied that it was ‘undisputably necessary that the most vigorous and effectual measures should be taken for bringing these daring offenders to punishment’ - and ordered troops north.

A Retour of Special Service was held at Berwick-upon-Tweed on 20 May 1477 serving Thomas Broun (of lawful age) as son and heir to John Broun (who has been dead three months), in a carucate of land with pertinents on the north side of Flemington, (near Eyemouth, Berwickshire), valued at four merks annually and held in chief of the Laird of Restalrig [near Edinburgh] and Flemington for service of ward and relief, such services being given as neighbouring tenants in these lands are accustomed to give. Retour given by Henry Congiltoun, Sheriff depute of Berwick. Amongst the jury was Robert Lawder of Edrington, Thomas Edingtoun of that Ilk, Thomas Lumsden of that Ilk, William Douglas, Archibald Manderston, John Skougall and William Lauder. He witnessed a charter at the castle of Dunbar on 18 December 1475 as "Robert Lauder of Edrington".

Honyman was called to the bar in 1777, and became Sheriff-Depute of Lanarkshire in July 1786. As Sheriff, he was involved in the investigations into the political reformer Thomas Muir of Huntershill, interrogating potential witnesses for Muir's show trial on a charge of sedition before the Lord Justice Clerk (Scotland's most senior judge) Lord Braxfield, who was also Honyman's father-in-law. Muir's admission to the Faculty of Advocates and his appointment as Sheriff were both aided by the support of Sir Lawrence Dundas, who had bought the earldom of Orkney and lordship of Zetland from James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton and become known as the "Dundas of Kerse". In the 1770s, the Honymans supported Dundas and his son Colonel Thomas Dundas, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Orkney and Shetland in the 1770s.

Charles was a 'reckless adventurer' After Charles landed on Eriskay in July 1745, accompanied by the now elderly and sick Tullibardine, Murray was appointed sheriff depute for Perthshire and advisor to the government commander Sir John Cope. To the surprise of both sides, he joined the Jacobites when they reached Perth on 3 September, writing a letter of self- justification to his elder brother the Duke of Atholl. His reasons remain obscure; at the time, he cited the government's "corruption and bribery" and "wars all entered into for and on account of the Electors of Hanover" as necessitating "a Revolution to secure our liberties". In a letter written after the Rising, Murray said it was his "greatest honour [...] to suffer in so just and upright a cause" and complained "most people in Britain now regard neither probity nor any other virtue — all is selfish".

Montgomery was born at Macbie Hill in Peeblesshire in October 1721, the second son of William Montgomery, Sheriff-Depute of Peeblesshire, of Coldcoat or Macbie Hill, Peeblesshire. His mother was Barbara Rutherford, daughter of Robert Rutherford of Bowland, Stow, Midlothian. In Edinburgh he resided at Queensberry House on the Royal Mile and was its last resident as a private house. Here he famously had a black servant named "Hannibal". After schooling at the parish school at West Linton, Montgomery studied law at the University of Edinburgh, and was called to the Scottish bar on 19 February 1743. In 1748, after heritable jurisdictions had been abolished, he was appointed the first sheriff of Peebles under the new system. On 30 April 1760, thanks to the influence of his friend Robert Dundas, then newly appointed lord president, he succeeded Sir Thomas Miller, Lord Glenlee as Solicitor General for Scotland jointly with Francis Garden (1721–1793). In 1764, he became sole solicitor-general, and in 1766 Lord Advocate in succession to Miller, to whose parliamentary seat for the Dumfries Burghs he succeeded also.

Captain Hughes reported the incident as "the People Insult & Triumph, and while their sheriff depute protects them, make a Jest of Military Power". Captain Hughes reported on 1 October 1749 that one of his patrols in Killin had captured one Duncan Campbell on 22 September who had been wearing "Tartan Clothes" and that he was then confined in the prison of Killin. Captain Hughes also reported that they had recently pursued three armed men who had attacked some cattle drovers and stolen their cattle, but that the Highlanders being lighter armed and dressed were able to escape. Similar incidents were reported around the same time in other parts of the Scottish Highlands: On 16 September 1749 a Captain Scott of Guise's Regiment who was stationed at Braemar Barracks reported that his men had pursued a Highlander who had appeared armed and in "Highland Dress" but that he had fairly outrun them and that they had opened fire on him as he ran into a wood, but missed him.

Col. Thomas Rattray, C.S.I., C.B., B.S.C. a Rattray of Rannagulzion commanded the Governor-General's bodyguard cavalry and is well known for having raised a new police battalion, known as the Bengal Military Police Battalion, at Lahore on 15 April 1856,The 1st Bengal Military Police Battalion at Lahore, see Omer Tarin and SD Najumddin, 'Risaldar Sardar Habib Khan, An early native Indian officer, 1st Bengal Military Police Battalion', in Durbar: Journal of the Indian Military Historical Society Journal reference, List of Her Majesty's British Forces on the Bengal which distinguished itself throughout the Indian Mutiny. This famous battalion, which was regularised as an infantry unit in the British Indian Army as the 45th Rattray's Sikhs in the 1860s, later became the 3rd Battalion 11th Sikh Regiment in 1922 and then the 3rd battalion the Sikh Regiment Rattray's in the modern Indian army. John Gaylor, Sons of John Company: The Indian and Pakistan Armies 1903-1991 Delhi: Lancer International Publishers, 1993. The twenty-second and twenty-third Lairds of Rattray died without heirs and the estate then passed to a cousin, the Honourable James Clerk Rattray, sheriff depute of Edinburgh.